Manchester City ought not to have needed a wake-up call given the situation they were in, not to mention the stakes. Fail to win here and ignominy belonged to them, a Champions League exit at the first hurdle. The longest league table in football history would not lie. And yet Pep Guardiola’s team waited for one all the same, sleepwalking towards disaster.
When the half-time whistle went, they were second best to Club Brugge and behind to Raphael Onyedika’s well-taken goal on 45 minutes. It was not just City’s accountants that shifted uncomfortably. Everything was on the line for everybody – Guardiola, the players, the fans. It was sporting pride, reputations, the lot.
