Manchester City maintained their unbeaten record in the UEFA Champions League group stage, coming from behind to beat Sevilla 3-1.
Rafa Mir’s flying header into the far post in the first half looked to be enough for Sevilla to punish Manchester City and end their incredible run. But Julian Alvarez laid off a brilliant ball to Rico Lewis for the equaliser, with the teenage prodigy shooting the ball past Bono to become the youngest Champions League scorer on debut.
Alvarez was again involved as he took Kevin De Bruyne’s well-judged pass and got past Bono to send the ball into the empty net. The Argentine was again in the thick of things as he assisted Riyad Mahrez to cap off a solid outing for Manchester City. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Pep Guardiola’s men.
Stefan Ortega: 6/10
Ortega stood still in his position as Rafa Mir’s looping header entered the goal from the far post. He did not have to toil hard as Sevilla rarely threatened the Manchester City goal. And he was good with his feet.
Rico Lewis: 8/10
Rico Lewis made history as he became the youngest player ever to score on his debut in the UEFA Champions League. The teenage prodigy operated from the right flank and did not look nervous at all on his first senior outing. One for the future.
🗣️ “The guys that want to stay here and fight for their position have a chance, if they are not patient and listen to the agents more then they can leave.”
Pep Guardiola says young players will get their opportunity at Manchester City if they are patient. 👶 pic.twitter.com/9PrCnyhYom
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 2, 2022
Ruben Dias: 6/10
A reality check for the Portuguese defender as he was caught being sloppy, which allowed Rafa Mir to peek in with a header in the far post. He produced a much-improved performance in the second half.
Aymeric Laporte: 7/10
Laporte tried to play from the back with a lot of intensity and had very little to do defensively. The Spanish international disrupted Sevilla’s build-up a number of times. A good performance overall.
Sergio Gomez: 6/10
Gomez was a mere spectator when Rafa Mir scored the opener as he did not try to block the effort. The young left-back kept the possession well and delivered some nice crosses, but that final output was not there in his game.
Ilkay Gundogan: 7/10
Gundogan did his job well as Sevilla did not really push up forward through the middle of the pitch. But the Manchester City captain lacked that knack of finding that inch-perfect pass and went off to make way for Bernardo Silva.
Cole Palmer: 6/10
Palmer missed an early chance to provide the edge. The youngster tried to do fancy things but could not keep his head high. A wasted opportunity for the youngster.
Phil Foden: 8/10
Foden was the brightest player on the pitch for Manchester City against Sevilla. He always looked to be involved in the build-up, and as Sevilla were holding a low block, he looked for that penetrative zone behind their backline. He should start more games for the English champions.
Riyad Mahrez: 7/10
Mahrez barely pushed the Sevilla defence as he endured another frustrating evening. He got his goal, and it would have been pretty surprising if he had failed to finish from that point of view. The Algerian international needs to be sharper to influence the game.
Jack Grealish: 6/10
Grealish produced some decent moments with his enterprising runs but could not get the job done. He produced a number of dribbles to showcase his skills but was not at par with the other players and was hooked at half-time.
Julian Alvarez: 9/10
3 – Aged 22 years and 275 days, Julián Álvarez is the youngest Argentinean to be directly involved in three goals in a single UEFA Champions League match since Lionel Messi vs FC Bayern München in April 2009, also under Pep Guardiola (21 years 288 days). Blessed. pic.twitter.com/F6OiPrACO6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 2, 2022
Alvarez was the player of the match as he grabbed his opportunity with both hands and created some serious selection headache. He found Lewis with a brilliant ball through the Sevilla defensive lines for the equaliser. Alvarez then got his goal as he rounded off Bono and finished it off in a brilliant way. Finally, he set up Mahrez for the third goal as he was involved in all three goals.
SUBSTITUTES
Bernardo Silva: 7/10
Bernardo Silva, the player to watch in our preview, added some spice and tidiness with his quality moves.
Kevin De Bruyne: 7/10
Kevin De Bruyne bossed the midfield once again as he teed off Alvarez with an excellent assist for the second goal. That was some brilliant vision from the Belgian.
40 – Kevin De Bruyne has been directly involved in 40 goals in 41 games for Manchester City in 2022 (16 goals, 24 assists), more than any other Premier League player.
40 – Kevin De Bruyne
38 – Harry Kane
32 – Mohamed Salah
27 – Son Heung-min
25 – James MaddisonKing. pic.twitter.com/ZXyXeQtMEi
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 2, 2022
Rodri: 7/10
Rodri tightened the game in the middle of the pitch to add some incisiveness.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand: 6/10
Wilson-Esbrand had some fruitful minutes under his belt.
Joao Cancelo: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
