Manchester City steamrolled past a hapless Sevilla as the English side demolished the Spanish side 4-0 in their opening group stage match in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland can certainly be bestowed with the title of the best young striker in the world currently as the Norwegian striker continued his brilliant run with another brace in the continental competition. Phil Foden also contributed with a sublime goal while Ruben Dias added a fourth as the English giants are off and running in another Champions League campaign.
City dominated the proceedings as usual as it took 82 minutes for the host team to register their first shot on target. The dominance was so brutal that Ederson didn’t have to be involved at all in the game.
The humiliation started with Phil Foden feeding a ball to Kevin De Bruyne who latched a low cross onto the path of Haaland. The gigantic striker made no mistake and tapped it home to open the scoring.
The floodgates opened and Foden added a second with a silky smooth touch inside the penalty box. Joao Cancelo glided the ball to the English international who twisted and turned to fire a low shot past Sevilla custodian Bono.
Haaland netted his second of the match after a while. As the Sevilla keeper tried to fend off Foden’s shot, the ball fell perfectly to the former Borussia Dortmund striker who made no mistake in sending it back to the net.
Ruben Dias converted Cancelo’s cross as it turned out to be Sevilla’s joint heaviest home defeat in the Champions League. Julen Lopetegui has some serious catching-up to do as it has been a disastrous start for them this season.
The Hard Tackle runs the rule over Pep Guardiola’s men
Ederson: 6/10
The Brazilian shot-stopper had the best view in the stadium to enjoy City’s sheer possession-based display all around the pitch. Ederson sprayed some nice passes which helped the team in shaping up the play.
Joao Cancelo: 8/10
The Portuguese full-back had the license to bomb ahead and looked pretty menacing whenever he had the ball. He laid down the ball for the fourth goal.
Ruben Dias: 7/10
Another clean and crisp performance from the Portuguese centre-back. Although Sevilla offered very little up front, the defender ensured everything fell in place and it also helped his partner to shore things up in the back.
Manuel Akanji: 7/10
The summer entrant never looked short of confidence in his first full City start. The Swiss defender had a good transition to slot into the City back line and his effort will keep Guardiola quite happy.
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Sergio Gomez: 6.5/10
A valiant effort from the left back. Sergio Gomez looked quite impressive on the left side of the defence and provided the necessary width while attacking the Sevilla defence.
Rodri: 7/10
Controlled the tempo of the game and pressed high to force the Sevilla players into making mistakes. The defensive midfielder had an errorless game and has seamlessly fitted in the place of former City midfielder Fernandinho in the heart of the City midfield.
Kevin De Bruyne: 8/10
The Belgian again showed why he is the best in the business. Kevin De Bruyne pulled the strings as he dictated City’s run of play. He played some wonderful passes across the field and got even better as the game passed.
Bernardo Silva: 7/10
Bernardo Silva had another good game under his belt. Did the scrappy work in the midfield and worked tirelessly during his stint in the game. He initiated the move for the second goal.
Jack Grealish: 6/10
Grealish would not be happy with how the game has panned for him. The English winger made some smart moves but the end product was disappointing. Looked a bit dejected after the manager called him off after just the hour mark.
Phil Foden: 8.5/10
Foden had a sparkling night as he dazzled with City’s visionary attacking display. The attacker laid down the ball to De Bruyne for the first goal and scored his first of the match with a brilliant individual display inside the Sevilla box.
Erling Haaland: 9/10
25 goals in 20 Champions League games speaks volumes about one’s talent. Erling Haaland remains one of the most potent forwards of the game and the 22-year-old has now sent a cautious warning to Tottenham Hotspur prior to their clash in the Premier League.
Substitutes
Ilkay Gundogan: 6/10
Gundogan did his job quite efficiently.
Cole Palmer: 6/10
Showed some skills on the left flank.