Man City celebrations after Club Brugge speak volumes on big Champions League night

Out of the frying pan and into the fires of Madrid or Munich for Manchester City after squeezing their way into the Champions League play-offs.

A merchandise kiosk setting ablaze outside the Etihad on Wednesday evening was a little on the nose as the Blues arrived trying to avoid their season going up in flames. When they actually arrived though was up for debate.

With UEFA running a live page online updating the play-off and last-16 permutations as every goal went in, everything was quiet in east Manchester. Club Brugge sat back and a nervous host never got going in the first half.

Pep Guardiola had his head in his hands as early as the third minute when Matheus Nunes and Manu Akanji both went for the same ball and were beaten in the air to allow Christos Tzolis to run half the length of the pitch into the box before wasting the golden opportunity. That should have woken City up, but Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden were firmly off with their radar and nobody else looked like doing anything.

Literally in the case of Nunes, who was sold the slowest stepover of the season by Ferran Jutgla on the edge of half-time as a bad half became far worse. The ball went square across the box to Raphael Onyedika and his shot went through Ederson to put the Belgian side ahead.

In many ways, it summed up how badly wrong the season has gone: a fringe player who hasn't shown the midfield quality he was signed for, out of position because the club captain has run away from his troubles and - not for the first time - out of his depth. And not even against good opposition either; nor were Sporting, or Juve, or Feyenoord.

As they returned for the second half, with Savinho on for Ilkay Gundogan, City were staring at the biggest