Phil Foden struck his first goal of the season and Erling Haaland was also on target as Manchester City stormed to a 4-0 UEFA Champions League victory at Slovakian minnows Slovan Bratislava.
The 2023-24 Premier League player of the season, Foden, has struggled with illness this term but capped a rare start of late with a clinical low finish on 15 minutes.
It followed Ilkay Gundogan’s opener as the German’s deflected volley saw him hit the back of the net for the first time since returning to the club in the summer.
Slovan struggled to get out of their own half and were grateful to see the woodwork thwart City on three occasions in as one-sided a first half as you are likely to see.
The pattern continued after the restart and Haaland inevitably got in on the act just shy of the hour when he raced clear, rounded the goalkeeper and tucked home his 42nd goal in the competition in just his 41st appearance.
Substitute James McAtee added a fourth 16 minutes from time with what was his first goal for the club.
Overall, it was a sobering experience for Slovan, who were hosting their first Champions League match, but they will be happy to have kept the score down on a night where it could have been anything if City had truly gone for the jugular.
City are now unbeaten in 12 UCL away matches and a sixth victory in that sequence was never in doubt from the moment Gundogan volleyed home on eight minutes.
It was a mismatch that had the likes of Haaland licking his lips, but it may also be more significant for Foden.
✓ Barcelona Thrashes Young Boys 5-0 In Champions League Rout
It’s not been the start to this campaign he would have been hoping for, especially on the back of last term and a Euros where he didn’t quite ignite, but this was the sort of game to help him rekindle his Mojo.
The 24-year-old is off the mark for the season on just his second start.
His absence has gone a bit under the radar given the form of Haaland and the injury to Rodri, but there’s no doubt a fit and firing Foden will be a major plus and tonic for Pep Guardiola going forward.
The City boss will also be pleased to give more minutes to the likes of Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis and James McAtee on what was pretty much a perfect evening’s work for the Premier League champions.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Phil Foden! The forward revelled in the space afforded to him, netting a sharp finish, hitting the woodwork and looking to end passages of slow-tempo build-up with an injection of pace.
Added a late assist to cap a promising outing.
PLAYER RATINGS
SLOVAN:
Takac 7, Blackman 6, Kashia 6, Bajric 6, Wimmer 6, Savvidis 6, Ignatenko 6, Barseghyan 6, Tolic 6, Weiss 6, Strelec 6.
Subs:
Szoke 6, Zuberu 6, Marcelli 5, Pauschek 5, Mak n/a.
MAN CITY:
Ortega 7, Lewis 8, Stones 8, Akanji 7, Gvardiol 7, Gundogan 8, Nunes 7, Savinho 7, Foden 8*, Doku 8, Haaland 7.
Subs:
Dias 6, McAtee 7, Grealish 6, Walker 6.
