The Cityzens were missing the touch of their red-hot striker on Tuesday evening, after they dropped points for the first time in the Champions League this season.
Manchester City travelled to the Parken Stadium to play FC Copenhagen in their second-leg clash in Group G of the UEFA Champions League.
The Blues currently top their group having won all their opening three fixtures in the group.
With one eye on the crunch Premier League clash between City and Liverpool this weekend, Pep Guardiola fielded a starting XI without Erling Haaland for the first time this season.
The Blues dominated proceedings as expected in the opening 20 minutes having seen an audacious effort from Rodri ruled by VAR in the 13th minute due a handball infringement from Riyad Mahrez.
The visitors soon had a glorious chance to finally open the scoring in the 24th minute, only to see Riyad Mahrez denied from the spot after a moment of brilliance from Copenhagen shot-stopper Kamil Grabara.
However, City suffered a setback a few moments later as they were reduced to 10 men.
After a VAR check, referee Artur Soares Dias issued Sergio Gomez his marching orders in the 30th minute for a foul in the box against a Copenhagen player.
Eventually, the resulting free-kick would in no way trouble the City defense.
Three minutes later, Guardiola was eventually forced to make an early change in the opening period withdrawing Riyad Mahrez for Ruben Dias as the visitors searched for an opener.
Despite City’s dominance, the visitors could not break the deadlock in the first period as both sides went into the break with the scoreline goalless.
The second half resumed with City still in the ascendancy despite being a man down.
However, the Blues failed to create any clear-cut chances as they usually do, with some lack of decisiveness evident in their play whenever they found themselves in the final third.
The hosts managed to frustrate the visitors and at the end held on for a hard-fought draw on Tuesday night as City dropped points for the first time in Europe this season.
Social Media Reactions
Following the result for Manchester City, fans have aired their frustration with the team’s performance on the night, having failed to score for the first time this season without their goal machine Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker was rested ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.
Here’s how fans have reacted:
Pulse
