Manchester City arrived in Marseille with no striker and the gloomy forecast that Sergio Aguero could miss a month with a hamstring strain.
With Gabriel Jesus still sidelined, and teenager Liam Delap ineligible to play in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola will again rely on false nines. He wanted a third senior striker signed in the summer but conceded that City could not afford one.
They have been at odds with the treatment table since, the City manager revealing that the Premier League is suffering almost 50 per cent more muscle injuries than this time last year.