MANCHESTER CITY were held 1-1 at home to Celtic in the final group stage game of the Champions League.
The game was a throwaway match with City assured qualification to the knockout stages with no chance of over-taking Barcelona in the group, and Celtic eliminated with no hope of Europa League football.
The majority of the action took place within the first ten minutes of the game, and it was the away side who went ahead.
Patrick Roberts, on loan from City, opened the scoring in the fourth minute after cutting in from the right wing and getting past Gaël Clichy perhaps a little too easily.
He still had a lot of work to do once inside the box, but Caballero could do little to keep out the winger’s tidy finish.
However, the Scottish side were only ahead for a brief period of time.
Youngster Kelechi Iheanacho drew the home side level in the eighth minute as his pace was too much for the opposition defenders, before driving a shot high in to the roof of the net beyond Craig Gordon for his fifth goal of the season.
Boss Pep Guardiola made nine changes from the team that started against Chelsea on Saturday in the heated Premier League match, introducing EDS players such as Pablo Maffeo and Tolin Adarabioyo to the side.
Celtic had a chance to go ahead again on 20 minutes, as Dembele found room to get a shot away from inside the box, however Caballero was there to deny the prolific Frenchman.
This was followed immediately by Forrest’s shot which Caballero could only parry, with the rebound falling again to Forrest who found himself with an open goal, but he couldn’t finish.
City asserted their dominance as the first half came to a close, with chances for Iheanacho, and Pablo Zabaleta putting in an assertive performance out of midfield, as opposed to his usual right back slot.
The second half was much more balanced and saw fewer clear cut chances.
Patrick Roberts put City under pressure as Celtic try to find a winner, taking advantage of a lagging Manchester City side, however he couldn’t add to his tally on the night.
The home side regained their composure towards the end of the second half, and came close to finding a winner themselves. It looked as though summer signing Nolito put the hosts ahead, slotting in from a through ball from Navas, however the Spaniard had edged millimetres offside.
A tough but ultimately fair result for both sides, as either side could have wrapped the game up but failed to take their chances.
The Sky Blues enter the knockout stages of the competition with only one defeat, against top of the group Barcelona. However, they could be dealt a tough draw on Monday after finishing second in Group C. The Blues will also look to get their Premier League campaign back on track, with a trip to champions Leicester City this Saturday.
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