Surrounded by swathes of empty seats in the Etihad Stadium, City's players were humbled 2-1 by Lyon in a sloppy and apathetic display at the start of their European campaign Wednesday.
Banned from the touchline and unable to communicate with the bench, City manager Pep Guardiola did fill one seat in the stands and he saw his Premier League champions easily picked apart by the French visitors and not pressing with the usual intensity.
"We felt under threat every time we lost the ball and sometimes that brings the confidence a little bit lower," said City assistant manager Mikel Arteta, who was in charge on the bench in Guardiola's absence.
Errors by midfielder Fernandinho led to both Lyon goals, typifying how careless City was against a team that finished third in the French league last season and was even held to a draw at the weekend by 10-man Caen.
When a pass by the Brazilian midfielder was intercepted around the halfway line, Lyon charged forward. Nabil Fekir sent in a cross from the left that evaded Fabian Delph's swinging legs, allowing Maxwel Cornet to slot it home in the 26th minute. Delph held his head in his hands as the consequences of his mistake became clear.
City's troubles deepened when Fernandinho was caught in possession again. Memphis Depay set Fekir on a run and the forward doubled Lyon's lead in the 43rd by striking from the edge of the penalty area through the legs of John Stones.
"When we were in possession he helped our team to get up the pitch and was also fouled quite a bit as well," Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said. "He led us."
In the offseason it appeared Lyon would lose Fekir to Liverpool until talks over a 60 million euro ($70 million) transfer broke down.
"Nabil showed our captain is back," Genesio said. "I know that I can count on him absolutely."
It was clear how much City was missing the vision and composure on the ball of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who is sidelined until November with a right knee injury.
Perhaps the only reason for City to feel aggrieved in the first half was Gabriel Jesus being denied a penalty when he was tripped by former Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva just before Depay scored.
"To concede two goals like we did is very frustrating," Stones said. "We came in at halftime a bit deflated I think. But we picked ourselves up and we came out second half fighting and played a better second half."
But the improvement wasn't sufficient.
City pulled one back in the 67th when Bernardo Silva scored from substitute Leroy Sane's cutback. But the attacking threat was too patchy from a City side that won the Premier League with a record 100 points only four months ago, and are widely seen as one of the big favorites in this season's Champions League.
With Hoffenheim and Shakhtar Donetsk also in Group F, City appeared to have one of the kinder draws but is now playing catch-up.
Celebrating a decade under Abu Dhabi ownership, which allowed City to assemble a squad for more than $1 billion, the Champions League is the one big prize the club has yet to win.
And now City has become the first English side to lose four consecutive Champions League matches, following defeats in the round of 16 and quarterfinals last season.
The club's fraught relationship with Europe's premier competition was clear again before kickoff.
The Champions League anthem was again booed by the crowd — reflecting to ongoing bitterness over UEFA sanctioning the club for breaching spending rules — and the team often fails to sell out group-stage games. Even owner Sheikh Mansour doesn't make the trip from the United Arab Emirates where he is deputy prime minister.
"I wouldn't like to make excuse," Arteta said. "We had this type of crowd in the Champions League before and we were able to win the game."