For well over an hour, Kevin de Bruyne was a symbol of Manchester City ’s struggles - a frustrated figure fighting in vain to get out of Diego Simeone’s straitjacket.
But more often than not, it only needs a touch of pure class to undo even the most meticulous of defensive plans. And Phil Foden and De Bruyne provided a touch each to give City a narrow advantage, heading to Madrid next week. Foden had been on the field for just over a minute when he played in De Bruyne for the only goal of a game whose pattern of proceedings was entirely predictable.
You can have a grudging admiration for Simeone’s achievements and for his knack of grinding out results against elite opposition but it is pretty painful to witness. These guys waste time in the warm-up. Jan Oblak takes longer to take a goal-kick than he does to do Wordle.
