A late goal from former City player Jerome Boateng secured the three points for the German champions.
Joe Hart had done all he could but it wasn’t enough. Bayern did dominate a better part of the game, had better chances and their keeper was man of the match. Yet when an away team has held out against one of the European powerhouses for 90 minutes, one would hope that they don’t eventually lose the game.
The English champions offered occasional threat in the first half but faded after the break, spurring Bayern Munich on and inviting trouble. City had nobody in the same bracket as Xabi Alonso, whose passing was on another level, even if his wearing the No 3 shirt was slightly disconcerting.
Boateng’s goal took a deflection but it would be unfair to say the goal was lucky, City had several opportunities to clear Philipp Lahm’s cross but failed to do so and were punished for their weakness. It was always going to take something special to beat Joe Hart on the night, and once the ball had clipped the back of Mario Gotze, there was nothing he could do.
The loss might prove costly to City. If they had secured a point, City could have targeted either Munich or Roma in the group, with CSKA being the bogey team.
Roma proved that they were no push overs scoring four goals in 31 minutes in their 5-1 victory over CSKA Moscow. City will face Roma at home on the 30th of September and a result there will be critical to their Champion’s league campaign.