Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 victory over Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Phil Foden opened the scoring for City after just three minutes when weaving his way past his man and firing a low strike into the far corner and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Peter Jensen.
Erling Haaland then added another incredible goal to his catalogue with an acrobatic backheel volley in the 58th minute, just moments before John Stones put the game to bed with an expert looping header. Haaland then bagged his second of the night with a neat finish following a blistering City counter-attack before Matheus Nunes converted the penalty that he won late on.
Here is how Express Sport rated Manchester City’s players.
Stefan Ortega – 6
A quiet evening for the German. Was forced into one smart save in the first half before keeping play ticking when City built out from the back.
Rico Lewis – 7
Another strong showing from the England international. Lewis linked up well play in the final third when inverting and showed experience beyond his years when receiving possession in between the lines and under immense pressure. Guardiola’s Mr Consistent.
John Stones – 7
Covered plenty of ground as a right-sided centre-back to cover for Lewis’ runs forward. Recovered well after being booked for a daft challenge after six minutes and capped off his performance with his second headed goal in a matter of days.
Manuel Akanji – 6
His recovery pace proved key on several occasions in what was a strong showing by the centre-back.
Nathan Ake – 7
Answered every question asked of him upon his return from injury. Slightly unfortunate not to have bagged City’s second on the night, with VAR intervening to rule that he had accidentally handled the ball before finding the back of the net.
Bernardo Silva – 6
Showed moments of promise but generally faded in and out of the game, with Foden occupying the space where Silva would often attempt to work his magic. Understandably withdrawn.
Ilkay Gundogan – 5
Replacing Rodri is no easy feat, but the German is struggling to prevent his teammate’s absence from being felt. Slavia Prague found it too easy to bypass the midfielder on the counter-attack early on, and in possession, he struggled to inject pace into the attack.
Matheus Nunes – 8
Out on the left, the playmaker enjoyed a strong 90 minutes. Nunes kept his width to stretch the Sparta backline and caused defender Angelo Preciado plenty of issues with his darting runs in behind. Deserved his goal on a memorable night for the ex-Wolves star after providing two assists.
Savinho – 8
The winger caused Slavia Prague countless issues with his pace and energy on the right, weaving his way to the byline with ease thanks to his neat close control. If he is able to iron out the basic errors in his game, he could become a stalwart in City’s starting 11.
Erling Haaland – 9
Stole the show in the second half. After being unfortunate not to have scored with at one of four headers, he showed why he is one of the best in the business with a phenomenal volley which won’t be forgotten for a very long time and a neat finish. In a match where City relied on his target man play, Haaland delivered. Forty-four goals in 42 Champions League appearances for the striker.
Phil Foden – 9
Set the tone for the evening with a fine strike and was central in all of City’s attacks from that point onwards, being given plenty of licence to roam in his favoured No. 10 role. Foden looked like the player of old who tore up the Premier League last season.
