What angry Erling Haaland did after Sporting disaster shows disconnect between Man City players

Manchester City slumped to a dismal Champions League defeat at Sporting, with a disastrous second half condemning them to a first defeat in Europe since April 2022.

City took the lead through Phil Foden early on, however despite dominating the first half and wasting a number of chances, Sporting equalised on the break through Viktor Gyokeres.

Within 20 seconds of the second half, Sporting stunned City by going ahead, and they won a penalty 22 seconds after the restart from that goal. Gyokeres converted, and he did so again later on to add gloss to the scoreline. Erling Haaland slammed a penalty against the bar to compound City's awful night in Lisbon.

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These are the moments you may have missed from Manchester City's latest Champions League trip:

What Haaland did at full-time

Haaland has got himself in the right positions and had plenty of shots, but they just aren't going in. He registered his second-highest expected goals figure in a City shirt against Southampton but only scored one, had two or three great efforts at Bournemouth but couldn't find the back of the net, and at Sporting he looked in the mood once more - only to spurn a number of good chances.

The best opportunity of the lot came from the penalty spot, given extremely fortunately in City's favour at 3-1 down. A delay seemingly interrupted his focus and Haaland's spot kick smacked the bar and flew over. What is it about Haaland and penalties in Europe?

He has had 17 shots on goal since his successful effort against Southampton, of which eight have been on target. He's hardly out of form, but he's not in form either.

Haaland was first to slam the ball down on the centre-spot after each goal City conceded, seemingly angry at another strike going against them. He puffed his cheeks out when the penalty went over, and looked frustrated when Bernardo Silva grabbed the ball before it was given - as it turned out to take pressure off his teammate.

That was the kind of disconnect between the forwards that had been going on all night. Too many flicks or overhit passes. Players where they shouldn't be. Not crossing when they should.

At full-time, Haaland was visibly angry at his performance and the overall situation. While other City players shook hands with the hosts and offered apologetic applause to the fans, Haaland was seen heading briefly to the fans to applaud them before walking straight down the tunnel with minimal post-match pleasantries on the pitch.

It summed up his night and City's - the players were just on different pages.

Simpson-Pusey shows glimpses of his quality

Before May, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey had rarely played in front of any crowd barring a UEFA Youth League defeat at Mainz last season. Then he lifted the FA Youth Cup in front of 20,000 at the Etihad, before earning a call-up to the first team squad for the pre-season tour of the USA. There, he started against Celtic in front of 30,000 and at the iconic Yankee Stadium with 46,000 watching.

Now, he's come on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Carabao Cup and earned a full senior debut at the Estadio Jose Avalade - where the atmosphere before kick-off was so loud that viewers watching from Manchester could barely hear the commentary team over the singing.

But 19-year-old Simpson-Pusey isn't fazed by these occasions. Up against the prolific Viktor Gyokeres - reportedly a transfer target for Manchester United given his links to Ruben Amorim - Simpson-Pusey stood firm and stopped a dangerous break on one occasion by simply positioning himself correctly and holding up the striker. He did almost everything right to try and stop Gyokeres' equaliser, but the striker was too strong and deserved his goal.

He struggled in the second half as City collapsed, yet there were still some impressive challenges - one in particular to stop another breakaway. It was far from a perfect debut, and he understandably needed to be helped by Manu Akanji at times. But the centre-back is playing with supreme confidence and is a hugely different player to the one who looked wobbly on tour in the summer.

He will be stronger for this chastening experience and is far down the list of blame when the inquest begins.

Noel Gallagher's Pep contract hint

Noel Gallagher was a surprise addition to TNT Sports' commentary team, and opened up on his friendship with Pep Guardiola before the game. Gallagher will visit Guardiola after every game he attends and the Oasis star offered his own view of the manager's expiring contract.

Gallagher said: "He'll get carried out of the stadium [when he leaves]. I don't know, he hasn't said anything to me. But I personally think he'll stay for another year."

"It gives everyone a chance to breathe and reflect on what he did. If he can get another Champions League this year it would be great. If he never wins another game from this point on he'll be our most decorated manager.

"The most important man at the club is Khaldoon. We all know he's (Guardiola) going. He's already said he's not staying for another seven or eight years. So they must know. They have a plan set in place. Txiki's going too, it feels like the end of an era is coming. I don't know one single fan who's down about it. Everybody is ready to finally give him what he deserves as a great send-off.

"I hope he doesn't leave after the last game of the season when we can't say goodbye. It will be great for the league. Everybody can take stock, start again, and a new era."