Manchester City assistant manager Mikel Arteta has urged his players to heed the warning of a 'big wake-up call' received due to a 2-1 Champions League loss at home to Lyon.
The visitors led 2-0 at half-time at the Etihad Stadium and held on for a famous victory despite Bernardo Silva pulling a goal back midway through the second half.
We have had a big wake-up call, a result we were not expecting.
Mikel Arteta
Afterwards, Arteta accepted that his side had started the game slowly and had been made to pay, but he was keen to point out that there is plenty of time to put things right to ensure that the Citizens progress in Europe.
He told reporters: "We started quite slowly, we lost too many duels and twice in the first half we gave away the ball in dangerous areas and allowed Lyon to score both times.
"I can't really explain why we began so slowly, but sometimes in a new competition it takes a while to get on track. We were finding it hard to come up with the right pass, we couldn't build up any consistency and Lyon were able to take advantage.
"I don't think it was anything to do with complacency, though. We were well aware of Lyon's strengths and weaknesses and we were ready to make a fresh start in this competition.
"We have had a big wake-up call, a result we were not expecting, but it is early in the group stage and it is not too late to respond."
City are now priced at 5/1 to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, with Manchester United available at 25/1 and last season's runners-up Liverpool 7/1.
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Manchester City assistant manager Mikel Arteta has urged his players to heed the warning of a 'big wake-up call' received due to a 2-1 Champions League loss at home to Lyon.
The visitors led 2-0 at half-time at the Etihad Stadium and held on for a famous victory despite Bernardo Silva pulling a goal back midway through the second half.
We have had a big wake-up call, a result we were not expecting.
Mikel Arteta
Afterwards, Arteta accepted that his side had started the game slowly and had been made to pay, but he was keen to point out that there is plenty of time to put things right to ensure that the Citizens progress in Europe.
He told reporters: "We started quite slowly, we lost too many duels and twice in the first half we gave away the ball in dangerous areas and allowed Lyon to score both times.
"I can't really explain why we began so slowly, but sometimes in a new competition it takes a while to get on track. We were finding it hard to come up with the right pass, we couldn't build up any consistency and Lyon were able to take advantage.
"I don't think it was anything to do with complacency, though. We were well aware of Lyon's strengths and weaknesses and we were ready to make a fresh start in this competition.
"We have had a big wake-up call, a result we were not expecting, but it is early in the group stage and it is not too late to respond."
City are now priced at 5/1 to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, with Manchester United available at 25/1 and last season's runners-up Liverpool 7/1.
View all Soccer betting
Source: bet365.com