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LYON, France (Reuters) – Manchester City have qualified Tuesday for the knockout stages of the Group F Champions League after going 2-2 tied with Olympique Lyonnais (2). -2), one of Pep Guardiola's teams against.
The goals of Maxwel Cornet were canceled by Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Aguero to leave City at the top of the group with 10 points. Lyon is second with seven points, two ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk who grabbed a 3-2 victory at Hoffenheim to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last 16.
The Guardiola City have often found themselves in the backcountry in France and have struggled to contain Ivorian striker Cornet who nearly scored a goal after half an hour but a heavy pressure on the French side. dropped in front of the goal.
He also attempted an acrobatic scissor kick that hit the crossbar just before half-time, but finally got his reward, giving his host the top of the standings 10 minutes after the break with a nice foot finish left.
Minutes later, goalkeeper Anthony Lopes made a good stop to prevent Sergio Aguero 's head from being close.
However, Guardiola 's players soon equalized when Laporte arrived just after the hour following David Silva' s arrival.
The game ended until Cornet struck again 10 minutes from the end of the match with a low end of the game after catching the ball in the depth of Memphis Depay.
Once again, City equalized quickly with a header, this time Aguero did not miss the corner of Riyad Mahrez and saved a hard-earned point for his team.
Guardiola praised Lyon, the only team to beat City this season, after winning the first 2-1 group match at Etihad Stadium in September, and the only team to have scored two goals against the champion d & # 39; England.
"We are so happy and thrilled, they are some of the toughest teams we have ever faced, we have responded so well after the 1-0 and 2-1 goals and we are in the final (stage) and c & # 39; was our goal, "Guardiola told BT Sport.
"Still in my career, when I play against French teams, they are so physical, that's why they are world champions," he added.
The praises of Guardiola have been taken over by the leaders of the English club, according to the Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.
"We have to keep the positives, we put City in trouble tonight, we had a good game, the City president loved our team," he said.
"We scored four goals against City in two games, but they conceded only five goals since the start of the season (Premier League)."
The draw would have been enough for both sides to reach the last 16 games without the last winner of Shakhtar. Lyon will visit Ukraine next month for a final group showdown.
Hoffenheim supports the group on three points, but can still win third place and a place in the Europa League.
(Report by Christian Radnedge, edited by Martyn Herman and Toby Davis)
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