UEFA Champions League | Manchester City 1 – Basel 2

Manchester City cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite falling to a 2-1 loss at home by Basel, Pep Guardiola's men progressing 5-2 on aggregate.

7 March 2018, 10:59pm

1 min read

Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City

A comprehensive 4-0 win in Switzerland three weeks ago gave City a foot in the last eight and the chance of a Basel comeback was always extremely remote, but the hosts struggled for cohesion after nine changes and slipped to a first home defeat in any competition since December 2016.

Guardiola took the chance to rest stars including Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Ederson and David Silva, with Phil Foden starting to become the youngest English player to start a knockout game in the Champions League.

Teenager Foden featured alongside Yaya Toure - 17 years his senior - in midfield but the duo struggled to retain control of the contest, although City took an early lead on the night.

Leroy Sane carried the ball past a series of defenders and slipped it through to Bernardo Silva, whose low cross was ideal for Gabriel Jesus to score his first goal since returning from two months out with a knee ligament injury.

Basel came from behind to win at the Etihad Stadium, though, Mohamed Elyounoussi slamming a finish past reserve goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and then setting up Michael Lang for a fine strike to send the visiting supporters home happy despite their team's last-16 exit.