City ease past Sevilla to seal last-16 place
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
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Sevilla 1-3 Manchester City
Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho struck in the opening 11 minutes as Manuel Pellegrini's side advanced with two games to spare.
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- Manchester City and Real Madrid first teams through to round of 16
- Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Bony, Benoît Trémoulinas get first Champions League goals
- City go 2-0 up and Jesús Navas hits post inside opening 13 minutes
- City have kept just one clean sheet in last 12 matches
- Next games: Mönchengladbach v Sevilla, Juventus v Man. City (25 November)
With Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho far too hot for Sevilla to handle, Manchester City made light of the pre-competition predictions of a struggle as they booked their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Manuel Pellegrini's side had prevailed with a last-gasp Kevin De Bruyne strike a fortnight ago in England, but it was a devastating early burst that did the damage in Seville. Sterling and Fernandinho netted in quick succession, and though Benoît Trémoulinas pulled one back, once Wilfried Bony restored the two-goal cushion before half-time the result was never in doubt.
Threatening from the get-go, City took just eight minutes to draw first blood, Fernandinho slotting through for Raheem Sterling to open the scoring – and his UEFA Champions League account. Within moments Fernandinho was on the scoresheet himself, heading in after Bony's shot was palmed skywards by Sergio Rico.
City nearly made it 3-0, Jesús Navas slamming an effort against the far post. Sevilla responded, and though Fernando Llorente failed to take his chance, the hosts' full-backs displayed more composure, right-back Coke nicking the ball past Nicolás Otamendi and crossing for Trémoulinas to nod in.
An equaliser was briefly in the offing as Joe Hart denied Adil Rami and Vicente Iborra slammed the rebound into side-netting. Sevillista old boy Navas helped kill off their hopes, though, driving in a wonderful low centre for Bony to steer home on 36 minutes.
City were again much the more threatening after the restart, Sterling and Fernandinho continuing to run amok, while Yaya Touré came close to a fourth – lashing a fierce drive narowly past Rico's far post. City are through to the round of 16; for Sevilla, the UEFA Champions League dream looks even more precarious.
Key player: Fernandinho
With Fernando assigned to midfield guard duty, Fernandinho was free to drive forward, doing so with visible relish from the off. It was his clever pass that assisted Sterling's opener, and the Brazilian was on hand soon after to nod in City's crucial second.
Navas back to haunt Sevilla
Given a rousing reception in the warm-up, Navas did Los Hispalenses no favours once the game began. First blasting a shot off the post, the local boy soon succeeded in landing a hammer blow – setting up Bony for the definitive goal.
Sevilla pay for Sterling space
While Navas enjoyed himself on the right, Sterling had even more fun on the left. After netting his first UEFA Champions League goal, the England forward was a constant menace, fully involved in the move for City's second goal and providing gilt-edged second-half opportunities for Fernandinho and Bony.