Sagna: City must do better after European exit

Bacary Sagna is demanding a reaction from his Manchester City teammates this weekend after their collapse in Monaco saw them bow out of the Champions League.

Leading 5-3 heading into the second leg, City were 2-0 down at the break thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho but they responded in the second half and looked set for the quarter-finals when Leroy Sane blasted in.

But City’s porous defence failed to keep Monaco’s potent attack at bay, as Tiemoue Bakayoko steered a header past the helpless Willy Caballero to knock City out.

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The games don’t get any easier for Pep Guardiola’s side as Liverpool visit east Manchester on Sunday, a pivotal fixture in the Premier League’s top four race.

And experienced right-back Sagna is desperate to make an emphatic statement and shut their critics up.

“I expect a reaction from the team on Sunday,” he said. “I expect more desire, more passion. We did show passion in the second half [at Monaco] but it’s not enough.

“First we have to recover as it was a difficult game and then we have think about Liverpool.

“It’s a massive disappointment. We forgot to play in the first half, we forgot to fight as a team and press as a team and defend as a team.

“We gave them too much respect and against this type of players we put ourselves in danger.”