Three Key Takeaways: Citizens Hang on for 3-3 Draw in Glasgow
By Larry Henry
Manchester City earned a hard-fought point on Wednesday as they drew 3-3 in Glasgow against Celtic F.C. It was the Citizens second UEFA Champions League group-stage match of the 2016-17 tournament.
Pep Guardiola‘s side came into this match without key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, due to injury. Vincent Kompany and Fabian Delph were also missing from Manchester City due to injuries.
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Celtic F.C. had all the momentum with a packed Celtic Park rocking from the first whistle. British singer and songwriter Rod Stewart was in attendance for one of the top matches in the group-stage.
However, Manchester City did not get off on the right foot as Moussa Dembele chested home Celtic’s opener three minutes in. The Frenchman diverted Erik Sviatchenko‘s header which looked to have put him in an off-sides position.
Eight minutes later, Fernandinho found himself in the right spot as his slotted home from inside the box to draw City level 1-1.
The action kept going as a nice passage of play by Celtic saw Kieran Tierney‘s shot deflected in off of Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling for a 2-1 lead. Sterling, was tracking back and slid into the path of the Scot’s shot which went past keeper Claudio Bravo.
Sterling made up for it after a brilliant pass from David Silva saw the winger curl a second equalizer for Manchester City in the 28th minute. The English international deked Craig Gordon and slotted the ball home easily.
After the halftime break, Celtic came out fast and went up 3-2 after Dembele’s acrobatic attempt found the bottom left corner in the 47th minute.
Minutes after Ilkay Gundogan had his free-kick palmed away by Gordon, Nolito drew City level for the third time in the match after slotting home from Sergio Aguero‘s rebound. After 55 minutes the score stood at 3-3 with both teams continuing to mount pressure offensively.
In the dying stages, it looked as if Manchester City would get a late winner after Gundogan again had his shot saved by Gordon.
However, at the final whistle, Manchester City and Celtic had to share the points in a 3-3 draw.
The match was thrilling and exciting to watch, with both teams never letting down. It may not have been all three points for Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten run in all competitions continue.
Manchester City led in possession 61%-39%, while forcing six saves out of Craig Gordon. Claudio Bravo wasn’t called into action at all, but was pressured constantly when playing the ball with his feet.
Here are my three key takeaways from MCFC’s 3-3 draw at Celtic Park:
1.) City’s Defense looked shaky at times.
Celtic became the first side to score three goals against Manchester City this season. The first goal easily could have been waved off for off-sides. Still, Manchester City need to come out of the gate better if they want winning results. Alex Kolarov partnered Nicolas Otamendi at centerback and it looked as if the Serbian had some trouble keeping pace. After the early parts of the match, City’s back-line calmed down and worked well to move the ball around, and win possession back. However, with Tottenham to deal with on Sunday, the back-line needs to be a lot more focused to keep Spurs off the board.
2.) City bounced back plenty of times, it a tough atmosphere.
From the first whistle, Celtic Park was rocking and rocking loud. Manchester City went down each time, but fought back and earned three equalizing goals. It may not have been the best performance, but Manchester City easily were the better team on the pitch. Raheem Sterling bounced back after an own-goal, by keeping his calm and slotting home a goal of his own. This team showed a lot of resilience and I believe it will help them once they face tougher competition.
3.) David Silva was City’s Mr. Everything on Wednesday.
With Kevin De Bruyne out of the squad, a lot more pressure was placed on David Silva to run the offense for Manchester City. The Spanish international did just that by constantly working the ball to the wide areas and attacking Celtic down the middle. He completed the second-most passes of any City player, and played a brilliant assist to Raheem Sterling for the second goal. If KDB misses a lengthy amount of time, look for Silva to pick up where the Belgian left off.
Next: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur: Combined Starting XI
Manchester City sit on four points now and second in Group C after the draw. They will fly back to Manchester and prepare for a tough Premier League clash on Sunday as they travel to Tottenham Hotspur.