Manchester City Glided Into The Champions League Quarter-Finals

Despite being kept at home by a Sporting Lisbon side bent on limiting the damage, Manchester City glided into the Champions League quarter-finals.

City's 5-0 triumph in the first leg in Lisbon last month had virtually ended the tie, and it was evident from the start that the Portuguese had no chance of making an extraordinary comeback.

They stacked their defense, possibly fearful of suffering yet another humiliating defeat, leaving Pep Guardiola's side in complete control of the ball but unable to create significant chances.

Before the break, Raheem Sterling squandered City's best chance when he sprinted on to Phil Foden's pass and attempted to dink the ball over Antonio Adan but failed to gain enough height on his shot.

At the opening of the second half, Gabriel Jesus scored for the home side, but a VAR review determined he was offside from Riyad Mahrez's pass, and the goal was disallowed.

Despite failing to score, City were in perfect control, and Guardiola was at ease enough to replace Ederson with third-choice goalie Scott Carson with 20 minutes remaining.

The 36-year-old, who was making his first appearance of the season, was swiftly called into action to deny Paulinho from close range, prompting cries of "England's number one" from the City supporters.

For the sixth consecutive season, City has advanced to the quarter-finals, and their opponents in the last eight will be revealed on March 18.

City had not scored at home since the end of October, but while lacking the lustre of their success in Lisbon, they maintained control of the tie.

Sporting did manage several goal attempts before the finish, but they barely got a kick in the early minutes and were satisfied to keep City quiet.

There had been very little goalmouth activity at either end until Sterling sprinted clear just before half-time, but the home fans, who were still cheering loudly after Sunday's crushing derby win over Manchester United, didn't appear to mind.