Manchester City suffered another defeat, this time on the road to Juventus.
It was a game largely dominated by Pep Guardiola’s men but it was the same old story when it came to the result.
The Premier League champions were caught on the break early in the second half, with Dusan Vlahovic nodding into the ground and over the line to give the Old Lady the lead.
And as City pushed on for an equaliser, they were punished again.
This time it was Weston McKennie who pulled off an acrobatic finish to double the lead.
The loss leaves City a good distance away from the automatic qualification places with two games remaining, meaning it is more likely that they will have to enter a play-off.
Read on to discover the full tale of the match in Turin.
FULL-TIME | Defeat in Turin.
🦓 2-0 🤎 #ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/ROvVglP0LR
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 11, 2024
How it happened
The first half ended goalless, with both teams struggling to carve out clear opportunities.
Juventus were content to sit back and absorb pressure, while City dominated possession but lacked creativity in the final third.
Juventus’ best chance of the half came in the 20th minute when Kenan Yildiz cut inside from the left and unleashed a dipping strike that narrowly missed the post.
City, on the other hand, came close in the 40th minute when Kevin De Bruyne played a brilliant through ball to Erling Haaland, but Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio made a smart save to deny the Norwegian.
Juventus broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute through Vlahovic.
Kenan Yildiz delivered a pinpoint cross to the back post, where Vlahovic rose above the City defence to head home.
Ederson got a hand to it, but the ball crept over the line, giving the hosts the lead.
FT | ⌛ | A 5-star performance at the Allianz Stadium! 🌟#JuveManCity #UCL pic.twitter.com/9yuCFbiKRh
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) December 11, 2024
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan came close to an equaliser with long-range efforts, but Juventus’ defence held firm.
Juventus doubled their lead in the 75th minute with a stunning goal from McKennie.
Timothy Weah, who had come on as a substitute, floated a cross to the back post after his initial delivery was deflected.
McKennie struck a superb volley into the bottom corner, leaving Ederson with no chance.
Despite bringing on substitutes such as Matheus Nunes and Savinho, City were unable to find a way back into the game.
They had a penalty appeal in the 89th minute when Rico Lewis’ shot struck Gatti, but the referee waved away their claims, and VAR confirmed there was no handball.
