Manchester City is making it very difficult to achieve the goals it set for itself.
Midfielders Yaya Toure and Fernandinho were sent off in Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Manchester City now sits dead last in Group E, and the two midfielders won’t be able to help improve their team’s situation when Champions League play resumes in late November.
Host Manchester City was trailing 2-1 when Fernandinho body checked a CSKA player on the edge of Manchester City’s penalty area in the 70th minute.
[tweet https://twitter.com/433LIVE/status/530106742592798720 align=’center’]
Referee Tasos Sidiropoulos had already cautioned Fernandinho for a previous foul. Sidiropoulos then dismissed Fernandinho, who only had entered the game (as a substitute) 25 minutes earlier.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/530117623615201280 align=’center’]
Toure compounded Manchester City’s woes in the 82nd minute when he shoved CSKA’s Roman Eremenko to the ground. Sidiropoulos showed Toure a straight red card, reducing Manchester City to nine players.
[tweet https://twitter.com/433LIVE/status/530109089964380160 align=’center’]
Toure’s dismissal overshadowed his superb first-half goal.
Fernandinho apologized for the red card after the game. The Brazilian midfielder will be suspended for Manchester City’s next Champions League game against Bayern Munich on Nov. 25.
[tweet https://twitter.com/fernaoficial/status/530142646518308866 align=’center’]
Toure, who also will be suspended for Manchester City’s game against Bayern Munich, also apologized on Twitter.
[tweet https://twitter.com/YayaToure/status/530132689605509120 align=’center’]
Manchester City’s Champions League fate now hangs in the balance. The reigning Premier League champion must win its final two group-stage games if it is to avoid humiliation and progress to the Round of 16.
That task will be much harder without Toure and Fernandinho.
Thumbnail photo by Jon Super/The Associated Press
