Pep Guardiola speaks: On his substitutions: “Games need everybody, the starting eleven and the people who came from the bench,” he says in an interview with BT Sport.
On those missed chances in the first half: “These kind of games are hard because they defend aggressively, one against one,” he says. “It’s always tricky. In the first half we had three or four chances but it was 0-0. We were patient. We scored a good goal in the second half but it was difficult. They were so strong - with 10 players in the box, waiting for a free-kick or a counter-attack from [Bruno] Petkovic.”
On Phil Foden’s brief goal-scoring cameo: “I’m so sorry for Phil Foden because he deserves to play more minutes,” he says. “But he’s going to earn his chance.”
He refuses to discuss the yellow card he was shown and can’t get away quick enough when the interviewer thanks him for his time.
Match report: Man City 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad Stadium to see Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden come off the bench to score the goals that did for Dinao Zagreb. while he goes off to hurl interrogatory projectiles at Pep Guardiola, you can read his piping hot take on the final whistle.
City go top of the group: City make it two wins from two in Group C, seeing off Dinamo Zagreb with the help of goals from the substitutes Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden.
They should have won a game they dominated throughout far more easily, but were guilty of missing a glut of good scoring opportunities in the first half. Hats off to Dinamo Zagreb, who rode their luck at times, but mounted a very impressive rearguard action. Class prevailed in the end, however.
Full time: Man City 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It’s all over at the Etihad, where Manchester City have beaten Dinamo Zagreb by two goals to no score. Moments before blowing the final whistle, referee Serdar Gozubuyuk brandished his yellow card in the face of Zagreb manager Nenad Bjelica, who was unhappy about something or other.
GOAL! Man City 2-0 dinamo Zagreb (Foden 90+5)
Foden scores! City score from a counter-attack, picking up a pass from Raheem Sterling just inside the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area and rifling a low drive into the bottom left-hand corner. He wheels away in celebration, kissing the crest of his shirt.
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90+3 min: Dinamo Zagreb keep plugging away desperate to rescue a point at the end of a game in which they’ve defended stoutly throughout but ridden their luck at times. It took the intervention of Raheem Sterling, who came off the bench shortly before the hour mark to put City ahead in a match they have totally dominated.
90+2 min: Now Dinamo manager Nenad Bjelica is having a very animated discussion with the fourth official. He avoids a yellow card.
90+2 min: Foden gets a touch of the ball, dispossessing Marin Leovac.
90+1 min: Manchester City substitution: Phil Foden on for David Silva.
90 min: Manchester City corner. Next.
88 min: Manchester City substitution: Gabriel Jesus comes on for Sergio Aguero, who looks a bit fed up. He has a word with the referee on his way off, presumably enquiring why he didn’t get a penalty a few minutes ago.
86 min: Sterling holds the ball up in the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area, before playing a pass to the onrushing Mahrez. He tries to sweep it past Livakovic, but the goalkeeper makes another good save.
No penalty! The ref elects not to check his sideline monitor and Dinamo Zagreb get away with one there. Stojanovic’s shove on Gundogan was arguably six of one and half a dozen of another, but Peric definitely tripped Aguero.
I have no dog in this fight, but that should definitely have been overturned on the grounds of being a clear and obvious error. As we have seen so often in the Premier League, it obviously wasn’t clear and obvious enough for the video assistant referee’s liking.
82 min: Gundogan goes to ground under a shove from Stojanovic, then moments later Aguero goes down after being tripped by Dino Peric. The referee takes time out to consult with his video assistants.
81 min: Gundogan blazes high over the bar when he should have hit the target after running on to a pass from Mahrez.
79 min: In the classic City style, David Silva tries to pick out Sergio Aguero on the edge of the six-yard box with a pull-back from the byline. They’ve scored tons of goals in similar fashion, but this time a defender dives in to intervene.
78 min: Dinamo Zagreb substitution: Mario Gavranovic on for Kevin Theophile-Catherine. City win another corner, from which nothing comes.
75 min: Now Aguero goes down on the edge of the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area, under a challenge from Dilaver. He doesn’t get a free-kick and Pep reacts furiously on the touchline. It’s getting very scrappy – in every sense of the word – at the Etihad.
74 min: Rodri appears to trip Dani Olmo on the edge of the Manchester City penalty area, then gets the hump with the referee for not giving him a free-kick.
72 min: On the touchline, Pep Guardiola shakes his head at the injustice of it all after being shown a yellow card by referee Serdar Gozubuyuk. I can only speculate, but I guess he was voicing his extreme displeasure at the referee’s decision not to award Raheem Sterling the aforementioned penalty or free-kick. He was having a right go at the fourth official, whatever bee was buzzing around his bonnet.
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70 min: Raheem Sterling, who has been outstanding since he came on, goes down just outside the left side of the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area under a challenge from Stojanovic. He thinks he should have had a free-kick or penalty, but the ref is not having it.
69 min: Dino Peric is booked for a decidedly agricultural tackle on Riyad Mahrez that leaves the City man wincing with pain once he gets to his feet.
67 min: Relief for City, who finally go ahead. Rodri squared the ball from the left flank and under pressure from a defender on the edge of the six-yard box, Sterling does well to stay on his feet and prod the ball past Livakovic.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb (Sterling 66)
Raheem Sterling pokes the ball home from six yards out to give Man City a lead that’s been a long time coming.
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65 min: Peric slides in to put the ball over his own cross-bar with more last-ditch defending.
64 min: Stojanovic tracks a Sterling run and prevents the City substitute from receiving a pass on the left side of the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area. Good defending - he’s been very impressive this evening, as have most of the visiting defenders.
63 min: Great work from Fernandinho, who wins the ball in the middle third and plays it wide to Sterling. He’s unable to fashion a yard for a shot.
62 min: Dinamo Zagreb substitution: Amer Gojak replaces Mislav Orsic up front.
60 min: We hit the hour mark and it remains goalless. Cancelo tries to pull the ball across the Zagreb penalty area from the byline, but fails to beat the first man. Emir Dilaver intercepts and clears.
58 min: Sterling goes down hurt after a collision with Emir Dilaver as he tried to steer a low Mendy cross goalwards. He got a toe to the ball, despite the defender’s good challenge, but was unable to get too much power on his effort. He’s fit to continue.
57 min: Sterling immediately has an impact, forcing Stojanovic to put the ball out for a corner as he attempts to get on the end of a cross. Nothing comes from the set-piece.
56 min: Manchester City substitution: Raheem Sterling on, Bernardo Silva off.
55 min: Another cross into the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area, this time from Joao Cancelo. Kevin Theophile-Catherine heads clear.
54 min: Raheem Sterling prepared to enter the fray, while his manager tries to gee up his troops from the technical area. He’s looking very animated.
53 min: Stojanovic puts the ball out for a corner after Mendy sends a low cross into the centre. From the ensuing set-piece, the ball is sent high towards the far post. Livakovic punches clear.
51 min: Joao Cancelo gets the better of Marin Leovac on the right side of the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area, twisting his blood before sitting him on his backside. He gets a cross in, but it’s cleared.
49 min: Some panicked defending from Dinamo Zagreb after a mix-up between Dino Peric and his goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. They get away with it and eventually hack the ball clear.
47 min: Dinamo Zagreb enjoy a rare sortie into Manchester City territory on the counter and find themselves with a three-on-two. Bruno Petkovic dithers excessively on the ball and fails in his attempt to thread the ball towards Mislav Orsic on his left. City clear their lines.
Second half: Man City 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb
46 min: Manchester City kick-off, with no changes in personnel on either side. They immediately go on the attack again, trying to pass their way through the Dinamo Zagreb defence.
Half-time: Man City 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb
It’s all square: Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez have missed seven or eight great chances between them as Manchester City dominated the first half at the Etihad. It remains scoreless.
45+2 min: Not for the first, second or third time tonight, Benjamin Mendy fails to beat the first man as he tries to get a cross in from the left. Manchester city are sending everything through him and he’s not really delivering.
45+1 min: We’re into the first of three added minutes. If Zagreb go in for the break without having conceded a goal, they won’t believe their luck. Having said that, City’s chances have dried up in the past 15 minutes, after they missed six or seven great scoring opportunities in the opening half-hour.
45 min: Joao Cancelo turns on the after-burners to take the ball between two defenders in the inside right channel and square the ball. It’s hacked clear by a Dinamo Zagreb defender.
42 min: David Silva appeals for a penalty after taking a tumble in the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area as he ran on to a through ball from Gundogan. Right wing-back Petar Stojanovic had an arm on his shoulder, but didn’t seem to impede his progress - methinks Silva simply lost his balance. Not every fall from a non-foul has to be a dive, you know?
41 min: Mahrez plays the ball out to Mendy on the left touchline. The left-back is being kept busy tonight, tasked as he is with sending one cross after another into the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area.
38 min: Benjamin Mendy sends another cross into the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area, where Riyad Mahrez is penalised for a sly shove on a defender that was spotted by the referee.
37 min: Free-kick for dinamo Zagreb, wide on the right. Marin Leovic curls the ball into the penalty area, where Ederson catches comfortably.
35 min: Kevin Theophile-Catherine, formerly of Cardiff City, dives in to block a low, hard shot-cross from Bernardo Silva on the edge of the six-yard box. He needn’t have bothered - the linesman’s flag was up.
33 min: I’m not quite sure how, but Dinamo have made it past the half-hour mark without conceding. They’re 1,500 travelling fans will be delighted with that, although their team has been exceptionally lucky. With better finishing, Manchester City could be four or five up at this stage.
31 min: Nicolas Otamendi tries to pick out Benjamin Mendy with a ball between defenders down the inside left. It’s intercepted by Petar Stojanovic.
30 min: Mislav Orsic, wearing No99 for Dinamo Zagreb, attempts to ping a pass down the left touchline for Bruno Petkovic to chase. It’s intercepted.
28 min: Another attack by City, with David Silva picking out Sergio Aguero with a wonderfully weighted pass towards the byline. He attempts to drive it across the face of goal, but Livakovic blocks his delivery at his near post. The goalkeeper punches the ball down the pitch from the ensuing corner.
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25 min: Bernardo Silva gets the ball in the net for City, but it’s correctly disallowed due to a hand-ball by Sergio Aguero in the build-up.
23 min: Now it’s David Silva’s turn to miss a decent chance. Mendy sends a cross into the penalty area, where Dinamo Zagreb defender Emir Dilaver handles the ball into the path of Silva.
He fires wide from seven yards. Referee Serdar Gozbuyuk puts his hand to his ear to receive guidance from his VAR official, but Manchester City don’t get the penalty they perhaps deserved. I say perhaps, because I don’t really understand the hand-ball (Champions League v Premier League versions) rule any more.
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22 min: David Silva pulls a cross ino the penalty area. Riyad Mahrez dummies and leaves it to roll into the path of Ilkay Gundogan, who shoots over the bar when he should at least have hit the target. The collective Manchester City cross-hairs don’t seem to be aligned tonight.
20 min: As Olmo gets patched up on the sideline, Mislav Orsic takes the free-kick from wide on the left. He sends a cross fizzing towards the near post, where Ilkay Gundogan heads the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes of it.
19 min: Joao Cancelo gets booked after catching Dani Olmo with a high boot that leaves Dinamo Zagreb’s star player with a nasty cut over his eye.
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18 min: Another chance goes begging, as Aguero gets in front of Dino Peric in the Dinamo Zagreb penalty area to receive a pass from Mendy. Having stolen a yard on his marker, he fires high over the bar.
16 min: Having fired over from the follow-up from that Aguero chance, Bernardo Silva once again blazes over the bar with a volley after more good work by City. They’re very much in charge of this game - Zagreb are struggling to get out of their own half.
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13 min: Good save from Livakovic, who gets down to safe at the feet of Aguero after the City striker was put clean through on goal. He was helped by a poor first touch from the Argentinian, which made his task slightly easier. It was a good save nonetheless.
12 min: David Silva plays the ball wide to Mendy on the left touchline. He whips it into the mixer, where David Silva is unable to get the ball out from under his feet and fire off a shot. Zagreb clear.
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11 min: Rodri overhits a long pass to Sergio Aguero and the ball runs safely into the arms of Livakovic.
10 min: Manchester City build slowly from the back, before David Silva plays the ball wide to Cancelo on the right touchline. His cross his cleared.
9 min: Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Nikolo Moro goes down holding his shin after being caught by a late challenge from Benjamin Mendy. He’ll live.
7 min: Manchester City are dominating in these early stages, as you might expect. Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva have a bit of a mix-up, as the former overhits a pass out wide to the latter and watches the ball go wide. Goal-kick for Zagreb, which goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic takes.
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5 min: Rodri passes the most perfunctory of on-pitch head injury assessments and is passed fit to continue, despite looking a bit groggy. It’s not ideal, but at some point we can only hope that football will at least start pretending to take potential concussions seriously.
3 min: There’s a break in play as Rodri takes a heavy fall and requires medical attention. He leaped to contest a high ball and landed awkwardly after colliding with Ilkay Gundogan while airborne.
2 min: Dinamo Zagreb are playing with a back five: three central defenders and two wing-backs in Marin Leovac and Petar Stojanovic.
Man City v Dinamo Zagreb is go ...
1 min: Mislav Orsic gets the ball rolling for Dinamo Zagreb, whose players are wearing highlighter pen-coloured fluorescent yellow shirts, shorts and socks. Manchester City’s players wear their usual home kit of light blue shirts, white shorts and white socks.
Not long now: Dutch referee Serder Gozubuyuk leads the teams and they line either side of him and his team of match officials for the Champions League. Somewhat predictably, it is booed by the home crowd, who aren’t big fans of Uefa.
Elsewhere in Group C: Shakhtar Donetsk have just scored a late, late winner in the fifth minute of added time in their match against Atalanta at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia. They’ve won by the odd goal of three.
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If it was a record, it's just been broken - the combined total of tonight's Dinamo Zagreb starting XI (including 99, 66, 55 and 40) beats it by two: 405 v 403.
— Barry Glendenning (@bglendenning) October 1, 2019
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Man City v Dinamo Zagreb line-ups
Man City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Mendy, Gundogan, Rodri, Silva, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Mahrez.
Subs: Bravo, Walker, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Jose Angelino, Foden, Garcia.
Dinamo Zagreb: Livakovic, Stojanovic, Theophile-Catherine, Dilaver, Peric, Leovac, Moro, Arijan Ademi, Olmo, Orsic, Petkovic.
Subs: Zagorac, Ivo Pinto, Gavranovic, Gojak, Situm, Atiemwen, Kadzior.
Referee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (Netherlands)
More from Pep: While talking to the press yesterday, City’s manager acknowledged that fans would prefer to see their team win a third consecutive league title over a maiden victory in the Champions League, but said it was up to him and his players to “seduce” them as far as European competition is concerned. Read on ...
Pep Guardiola speaks: During his press conference last night, the Manchester City manager was extolling the virtues of former Barcelona youth player Dani Olmo, who left La Masia a little over five years ago at the age of 16 to join Dinamo Zagreb.
“He was in the Barcelona academy in the past and normally the players there are always good players,” he said. “He had the courage to go to Croatia and it looks perfect, he was one of the best players at the Under-21 Euros with an incredible work ethic.” You can read more about Olmo’s move in this feature by Aleksandar Holiga.
Nenad Bjelica speaks: “Everyone is in optimal condition and everyone will be able to play,” said Dinamo Zagreb’s coach in his pre-match press conference last night. “You give a lot of importance to tactics and systems, and most importantly, a big heart. We have analysed them and will try to surprise them. Let’s go play a good game, do our best and try to win. Let’s enjoy the game. We want to win. We showed that against Atalanta and so we will try in every game.”
Early team news
Dinamo Zagreb will be delighted to hear that Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out of tonight’s game with a groin injury. Riyad Mahrez is likely to start in his place after his excellent performance against Everton over the weekend. . In the absence of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, Fernadinho is likely to continue playing alongside Nicolas Otamendi in the heart of City’s defence.
For Dinamo Zagreb, defenders Kevin Theophile-Catherine and Emir Dilaver were both minor injury doubts, but are expected to be fit for selection.
Group C: Manchester City v Dinamo Zagreb
The Etihad Stadium is the venue for tonight’s match between Manchester City and Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian champions had to come through three rounds of qualifying to make this season’s group stages, seeing off Georgian side Saburtalo, Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros and Norwegian champions Rosenborg along the way.
In their opening group game they thrashed Serie A side Atalanta, scoring four without reply, but are likely to face a sterner test on a damp night in Manchester. Kick-off is at 8pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
