Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw by FC Copenhagen as Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty and Sergio Gomez was sent off in a VAR-influenced Champions League clash on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s side missed a chance to book their place in the last 16 after VAR controversially disallowed Rodri’s goal and, less debatably, dismissed Gomez for a professional foul.
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And with Erling Haaland rested on the bench ahead of City’s trip to Liverpool on Sunday, the Premier League champions failed to score for the first time in 24 games in all competitions.
They would have been guaranteed to progress from Group G with a win, but instead had to be satisfied with avoiding defeat after playing with 10 men for an hour.
Julian Alvarez was picked to deputise for Haaland and the young Argentine wriggled into the Copenhagen area for a low strike that flashed just wide in the opening minutes.
Rodri thought he had given City the lead with a 25-yard rocket in the 11th minute.
But after a lengthy VAR check the midfielder’s goal was harshly disallowed for handball by Mahrez in the build-up, even though the Algerian had no control over the ball’s accidental contact with his arm.
After being denied by VAR, City should have benefited from the system in the 24th minute, winning a penalty after a replay check of Nicolai Boilesen’s handball when he blocked Manuel Akanji’s header.
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However, not for the first time in a City shirt, Mahrez was unable to convert the spot-kick as Kamil Grabara dived to his right to make a fine save.
Remarkably, VAR would intervene yet again after half an hour when City left-back Gomez was caught the wrong side of Hakon Haraldsson and hauled down the Copenhagen midfielder.
After play had continued for several seconds without a foul being given, referee Artur Dias went to the pitchside monitor and returned to show Gomez the red card.
JUVE STUNNED BY EURO MINNOWS
Omer Atzili scored twice as Maccabi Haifa beat struggling Juventus 2-0 on Wednesday in Champions League Group H, pushing the Italian giants to the brink of elimination.
Tuesday’s defeat leaves Juve bottom of their group after four matches, three points behind Maccabi and four behind Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, who play later in the evening.
Juventus had suggested their form was improving as they beat the Israeli team in Turin last week, but since then they have lost to AC Milan to slide to eighth in Serie A.
FULL RESULTS
FC Copenhagen 0-0 Manchester City
Maccabi Haifa 2-0 Juventus
PSG v Benfica
Dinamo Zagreb v RB Salzburg
Borussia Dortmund v Sevilla
AC Milan v Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk v Real Madrid
Celtic v RB Leipzig
