Manchester City eased past Sporting Lisbon into the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League with a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
City drew a rare home blank but had already done more than enough to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 5-0 away win when these sides met in Portugal.
After such a lopsided result in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie in Portugal, the return in Manchester was always going to be little more than a formality as evident by Guardiola rotating his lineup by leaving the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri on the bench. City also took the opportunity to hand Champions League debuts to three teenagers, in CJ Egan-Riley and substitutes James McAtee and Luke Mbete.
With one foot already in the last eight, City lacked their customary fluency for much of the first half and it was not until Phil Foden’s brilliant pass to Raheem Sterling that Antonio Adán was required to make a save.
Manchester City thought they had the lead less than two minutes into the second half. Riyad Mahrez brilliantly took a pass into his path to surge toward the box before working the ball towards Jesus who found the net at the near post but the VAR judged the Brazilian to be offside.
Sporting had half-chances of their own. Paulinho snuck through for their best of the game but was thwarted by substitute keeper Scott Carson, who had come off the bench for only his second-ever Champions League appearance.
City have now made Champions League quarter-finals for the fifth time in a row. The last year’s runner-ups will learn their fate on March 18th.
