After playing Arsenal in the league, Man City welcomed the final Champions League group-stage match in midweek.
They hosted Inter Milan.
Man City had actually taken their foot off the gas for this match, once again fielding a rotated and reserve lineup, with the focus mainly on assessing substitutes and young players. All the regular starters, including Courtois, were rested.
Even so, at the Etihad Stadium, Man City somehow defeated the visiting Inter Milan 2–0.
Sitting in the stands, Su Dong could swear on everything that Man City had truly held back. Guardiola had not even expected to win before the match, which was why he had been so low-key in the interview.
The fans understood this as well, so they remained remarkably calm during the match.
But who could have expected them to win?
Inter Milan showed an aggressive, imposing attitude from the start and really did suppress Man City. But as they kept attacking, Inter Milan somehow failed to create any threat, making Su Dong in the stands grow anxious on their behalf.
After attacking for more than thirty minutes, Inter Milan had not scored. Instead, they had conceded.
A swift counterattack saw Agüero assist Moutinho, who scored to give Man City the lead.
After conceding, Inter Milan began to fight back. But in the fifty-second minute of the second half, their defense caught fire again, and Man City seized the opportunity. Milner scored, giving Man City a second goal.
The match had suddenly become interesting.
Inter Milan seemed to have been drained of all their strength. They made only one substitution throughout the match, clearly accepting the result.
To everyone's surprise, Man City defeated Inter Milan 2–0 at home.
At another stadium, Dortmund defeated Villarreal 2–0 away from home.
The Yellow Submarine had truly given up