Ranking Manchester City's 5 best players in 4-1 win over Club Brugge | UEFA Champions League
Last season’s finalists Manchester City welcomed Club Brugge to the Etihad Stadium in their fourth Champions League Group A fixture on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola’s side registered an emphatic 5-1 win in the reverse fixture and were in an equally destructive mood last night as well.
As expected, Manchester City dominated possession and did not allow Brugge to settle on the ball throughout the 90. With nowhere to run from City’s frantic, organized pressing, the Belgian outfit eventually crumbled.
Manchester City’s golden boy Phil Foden was the first to strike in the 15th minute, moments after Joao Cancelo hit the post. The Englishman’s effort was canceled a couple of minutes later by a John Stones own goal, but City did not lose their footing.
The English champions came out all guns blazing in the second half and restored their cushion through Riyad Mahrez’s perfectly-placed header at the far post. They added another, 20 minutes later, this time through Raheem Sterling. Finally, Gabriel Jesus joined the party and dispatched City’s fourth of the night.
The 4-1 victory marked another convincing performance from the Sky Blues, who now sit atop Group A. The Champions League aspirants clearly had a lot going for them, but few players were a smidgen more assertive than others.
Here are City’s five best performers in their convincing 4-1 win over Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League.
#5 Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez started on the right flank to add width to City’s attack. In the 15th minute, the Algerian international intelligently took part in the build-up that eventually led to Cancelo’s cross for Foden’s first-half opener.
Mahrez did not do much else in the first half, but sprung back to life in the second.
Riyad Mahrez is Man City's top scorer with 8️⃣ goals in 1️⃣5️⃣ games this season https://t.co/3fJEXb7W7N
Nine minutes after the restart, Mahrez collected the ball on the right flank and fed it to Cancelo. The Algerian rushed into the box anticipating a cross, and Cancelo did not disappoint.
Mahrez cleverly cushioned the ball down at the far post to put Manchester City 2-1 up.
#4 Ilkay Gundogan
Sitting in the middle of the park, Ilkay Gundogan made sure Manchester City dominated possession as usual. The German was a little static in the first half but got the license to push ahead in the second 45.
Pep Guardiola explains Ilkay Gundogan's importance to his side 🔥 🙌 https://t.co/g5xtli06un
Gundogan looked a lot sharper in the second half and was Manchester City’s best midfielder on matchday four.
His forward runs were well-timed and allowed the Premier League outfit to overload the Brugge box when they needed to. Gundogan assisted Raheem Sterling’s goal at an important moment to seal the game for Manchester City.