Kevin de Bruyne can be as eloquent in front of a microphone as he is with the ball at his feet.
“Different year, same stuff,” said Manchester City’s goalscorer after they departed the Champions League.
There was the usual cocktail of misfortune allied with controversy – it was hard to see how Lyon’s second goal was not disallowed for a foul on Aymeric Laporte – but also the familiar sense that City had contributed to their own downfall.
Raheem Sterling’s hideous miss, less than a minute before the third goal, felt part of a grander narrative, just as defensive shortcomings did.
It represented a third successive quarter-final exit for City. It left Pep Guardiola lamenting an inability to “break the gap” to the last four. For him, it has been a decade of diminishing returns on the continental stage. The glass ceiling was higher for his Bayern Munich teams, who had a hat-trick of semi-final defeats.
This time, Guardiola was phlegmatic about the officiating, though Laporte, criticising VAR, said: “This decision is hard to accept.”
But there are other recurring themes in City’s annual disappointments. “In this competition tactics are not the most important thing,” Guardiola said but a manager with a hyperactive mind is accused of overthinking things whenever his choices backfire.
Some of his left field tactical choices have come in quarter-finals and have not paid off: Ilkay Gundogan in a hybrid role off the right at Anfield in 2018, De Bruyne on the bench away at Tottenham last year and now use of a back three against Lyon.
“We tried to cover our weak points in comparison with their strong points,” Guardiola rationalised.
If it reflected the season-long issues with City’s defence, it also suggested the more talented team had an inferiority complex. A by-product was that four of City’s slickest technicians, in Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, David and Bernardo Silva, all began on the bench. City stripped themselves of one of their strengths without compensating for their weaknesses.
Fernandinho endured an awkward evening on the right of the back three and was substituted before he could be sent off, but if this was a microcosm of a campaign with defensive difficulties, the paradox was that it was the two most reliable members of the City rearguard who erred.
Laporte coughed up possession for Moussa Dembele’s first goal and Ederson spilt a tame shot for his second. For Laporte, fielded at left-back at Liverpool two years ago, floundering in the second leg against Spurs 12 months earlier, the Champions League quarter-finals have had a particular cruelty.
If he has been part of the problem, it is also undeniable he is part of the solution. But Guardiola’s selections of Eric Garcia, who may now leave after rejecting a new contract, and Fernandinho, a 35-year-old converted midfielder, were votes of no confidence in John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. An upgrade will be sought.
Guardiola has just signed Nathan Ake but perhaps if he already had a high-class right-sided centre-back, a Kalidou Koulibaly or a Dayot Upamecano, he would have been happier playing a version of his preferred 4-3-3.
Whatever the system, City have to concede fewer goals from quick counter-attacks if they are to conquer Europe. Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham and Lyon have all picked them off on the break. They have to be better in both boxes.
Because it is a chapter in a bigger story, a broader quest to take City to “the next pedestal,” as Kyle Walker put it.
There are times when the Premier League has appeared a greater priority and a competition that rewards consistency can lack the dramatic brutality of knockout football.
Now, however, the Champions League’s importance is evident, and not just for the manager’s legacy. “If we don't win it in my final period here, that I will be [judged] a failure here,” Guardiola said in February. “I know that.”
This was the gravest disappointment of his four exits. A last-eight date with Ligue Un’s seventh-placed side represented a missed opportunity, even if the evidence of 2020 is that Lyon’s semi-final opponents Bayern are substantially better than anyone else.
And yet the frustration is in part because City’s best, as Real Madrid can testify, is very good. Their finest individual is extraordinary.
De Bruyne was named the Premier League player of the season on Sunday, but risks becoming one of the best footballers of his generation never to win the Champions League.
And as he admitted on Saturday: “This team is great but we made too many mistakes.”
City need to cut out the errors to stop themselves being eliminated again.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
If%20you%20go
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
