Mikel Arteta refused to blame Pep Guardiola’s absence on Manchester City’s shock defeat to Lyon.
City’s Champions League hopes were dealt an early blow - losing 2-1 to the French side with Guardiola forced to watch from the stands as he served a one-match touchline ban.
Arteta took charge on the night as the Premier League champions fell to first half goals from Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir.
Bernardo Silva pulled one back, but City couldn’t find an equaliser, slumping to a fourth straight defeat in Europe.
Afterwards Arteta refused to pin the blame of the absence of their manager - suspended after being sent off in April’s quarter-final defeat to Liverpool - or a flat atmosphere at the Etihad.
Asked if Guardiola could have turned things around, the Spaniard said: “That’s something hypothetical. The reality is that Pep wasn’t here and we lost the game.”
Addressing the crowd after sections of fans chose to stay away, he added: “I wouldn’t like to use that as an excuse because we had that type of crowd in the Champions League before and we were able to win.
“The ideal scenario is to have a full stadium every time and being behind the team like crazy. But we know sometimes it doesn’t happen.
“I don’t think that’s an excuse though.”
City were uncharacteristically sloppy on the night - and could have fallen to an even heavier defeat, with Memphis Depay hitting the post when one-on-one with Ederson in the second half.
“We started a bit slow, we weren’t consistent in the way we tried to play,” said Arteta. “We lost many duels and you pay the price at this level.
“We gave the ball away in the build-up in difficult circumstances and they took advantage and scored twice.
“After that, the reaction of the lads and the team was superb.
“We created the chances but couldn’t get back in the game. At this level, it’s not good enough.
“You have zero margin in the Champions League. When you make mistakes, you get punished.
“Whether it is a lack of attention, not winning the duels, losing simple balls or not being effective enough - you pay the price and today is another great example of that.”
