Manchester City were guilty of missing glorious goalscoring opportunities as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in Turin on Wednesday night, with Raheem Sterling missing this chance in the second half.
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Fernandinho was presented with a perfect opening early on, but the Brazilian ace blazed his effort well over the bar when he should have done better to leave Gianluigi Buffon breathing a sigh of relief.
The visitors were then made to pay for their mistakes as Mario Mandzukic broke the deadlock, and despite protests from Nicolas Otamendi who thought he had been fouled in the build-up to the goal, it was awarded as the Bianconeri took the lead against the run of play.
Both sides had opportunities thereafter to set up an exciting end to the game, but it was Sterling who left Manuel Pellegrini frustrated after failing to make the most of his chance with Andrea Barzagli scrambling to divert the ball behind for a corner.
Juventus’s win sees them move back top of Group D with 11 points, while City drop to second place with nine points. However, both sides have now secured progression to the knockout stages of the Champions League following Sevilla’s 4-2 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach.
As a result, all that remains in the final round of the group stage fixtures is for Juve and City to battle it out to secure first place, although the latter need a favour from Sevilla as anything but a win for the La Liga outfit will ensure that Massimiliano Allegri’s men finish top due to their superior head-to-head record with their English rivals.
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