"Man City" received positive reviews from critics. Myles McNutt of
The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" and wrote, "I feel we've reached a point of maturity in the
Ted Lasso discourse that I can spend some time detailing how frustrated I am with Sam and Rebecca's storyline in 'Man City' without derailing the great conversations we've been having so far this season. Because while the episode overall does some good work to transition the show into the season’s third act, the resolution of the bantr storyline just didn't work for me on any level."
Alan Sepinwall of
Rolling Stone wrote, "Even so, 'Man City' clocks in at 10 minutes longer than the season average — essentially the length of two network sitcom episodes back to back, or that of many modern dramas. But it never feels long, because it earns that relatively epic running time. The installment brings several of this season's arcs to a boil, even as it's a really well-constructed episode of television on its own. All the pieces fit together in a satisfying — if often profoundly sad — way across those 45 minutes, and it advances some longer stories without undermining the experience of this installment. It's fantastic." Keith Phipps of
Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This loss will have consequences. It's going to take Jamie a long time to recover from a double dose of humiliation, and Beard heads off to do God knows what in the London night. The team's spirit appears to be broken, and though Ted makes it through the night without surrendering to a panic attack, it breaks him down enough that he knows he has to level with Sharon about one source of his troubles: his father's death by suicide." Becca Newton of
TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "
Ted Lasso isn't a joyous, life-affirming show because it thinks life is nothing but an endless swim in a pool filled with cash and Sour Patch Kids. It's a joyous, life-affirming show because it acknowledges the less rosy sides of life. So even though 'Man City' was the darkest installment of the show to date, it also had some of its warmest, most uplifting moments yet." Linda Holmes of
NPR wrote, "The genuine comedy-drama that unapologetically mixes genuine dramatic elements with silliness, a show like
Barry or
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or
Fleabag or
GLOW or
Insecure, while it isn't entirely new, has found a home in the present streaming landscape that didn't necessarily exist 20 years ago except in rare cases. And that brings us to this week's episode of
Ted Lasso." Christopher Orr of
The New York Times wrote, "I'm sure there will be a variety of strong opinions about the Rebecca-Sam connection. And I think everyone — myself included! — should wait to see how it proceeds before coming to firm conclusions. But it may be that I exaggerated (ever so slightly?) the degree to which Sam's father raised him to be a gentleman."
Awards and accolades TVLine named
Phil Dunster as an honorable mention as the "Performer of the Week" for the week of September 11, 2021, for his performance in the episode. The site wrote, "
Ted Lasso Season 2 had been, disarmingly so, drama-free when it came to prodigal son Jamie Tartt. But early on this week, when Jamie winced at a text from his Dad, you sensed something was brewing. That dread was confirmed when James and boozy buds showed up for AFC Richmond's semifinal — in opponent Man City's jerseys. What followed was a tense scene between Phil Dunster's Jamie and his pop, who came to the locker room not to just taunt Jamie about losing (badly) to the club he played with for a hot minute, but to dis his current mates as 'amateurs.' Throughout James' harangue, Dunster gave us a stoic, though clearly not unmoved, Jamie. You could hear a fuse hissing. When Jamie eventually clocked his father, watch again and you’ll see a mix of 'Did I just punch my Dad?' sadness and 'Damn straight I did!' resolve. A teary embrace with Roy punctuated Dunster's most nuanced work yet." ==References==