Manchester City 5 (Phil Foden 3′, Erling Haaland 58′,68′, John Stones 64′, Matheus Nunes 88′)
Sparta Prague 0
Here are the City player ratings from Manchester City’s emphatic 5-nil win over Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium. The world champions moved up to third on the UEFA Champions League league phase table with a dominant performance.
There was bad news for the world champions when the starting lineups were announced. Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish both didn’t train before the game and the extent of their injury issues was learned. Pep Guardiola revealed before the game that the pair are facing at least a couple of weeks on the sidelines. That would be the only bad news on the night for Manchester City.
First half
Pep Guardiola’s side made a fast start to last night’s game. Phil Foden opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a typical Phil Foden finish to open proceedings. From there it appeared to would be a City rout in the first half. But try as they might City could not add to their lead in the first half. Two smart saves from Sparta Prague keeper Peter Vindahl denied Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. The visitors did have their moments on the counter in the first half. A smart save from Stefan Ortega from a Velijko Birmancevic effort was the pick of Sparta’s chances in the first half. City went into the interval with a 1-nil lead but in truth it should’ve been more.
Second half
The second half would see City make their domination count. Nathan Ake had a goal ruled out by VAR for handball immediately after halftime. But that was only a reprieve for Sparta Prague as three goals in 10 minutes from Manchester City ended the game.
The first goal arrived in the 58th minute. Frankly, words don’t do justice to the superb finish from Erling Haaland to score City’s second. A dazzling piece of play from Savinho teed Haaland up who produced a mid-air back heel to double City’s lead. The goal can be seen below as words don’t do it justice.
Out of this world! 🌎
🤯 @ErlingHaaland pic.twitter.com/zkDoUdPCCm
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 23, 2024
John Stones would score City’s third on the night with a looping header from a Matheus Nunes cross. Erling Haaland would add his second of the night in the 68th minute after some neat interplay between Phil Foden and Matheus Nunes set up Haaland to finish with his right foot.
City’s 5th and final goal of the night was scored from the penalty spot by Matheus Nunes in the 88th minute. The Portuguese international won and converted the spot kick and he claimed a goal that his performance so richly deserved.
Here are the City player ratings from Manchester City’s comfortable win over Sparta Prague at the Etihad.
City player ratings
Stefan Ortega-6.5/10: Made one quality save in the first half. Had a quiet night but did have a couple of dodgy moments with his feet.
Rico Lewis- 7.5/10: Yet another quality display from Lewis. Did his work with minimal fuss and was crucial to City’s dominance in possession.
John Stones-8/10: Scored once again and was good all game before being substituted.
Manuel Akanji-7/10: A typical Akanji performance. Did his job on the night and did it well.
Nathan Ake- 8/10: It was great to see Ake back on the pitch. The Dutch international put in a quality display at left-back.
Ilkay Gundogan- 7/10: Did what he had to do in midfield. He is slowly getting back to his best and that was evident throughout the game.
Matheus Nunes-10/10: A utterly brilliant display on the left wing from Nunes. Picked up 2 assists and scored a goal in a performance that may lay the foundation for what lies ahead from Nunes this season. He was utterly brilliant.
Phil Foden- 8/10: He opened the scoring and was busy throughout the game. Foden looks to be close to his best in positive news for Manchester City.
Bernardo Silva- 7.5/10: Another trademark busy performance from Bernardo. Did the grunt work for his teammates to prosper and some of his touches during the game were magnificent.
Savinho- 8.5/10: The Brazilian international was a constant threat throughout the game. His assist for Haaland’s stunning strike was beautiful and he put in a great shift.
Erling Haaland- 9/10: Scored a brace and was unlucky not to score 4/5 if not for some quality saves from the Sparta keeper. A great display from Haaland.
Substitutes
James McAtee- 6/10: Had some nice touches after coming on.
Mateo Kovacic- 6/10: Same as McAtee, Kovacic had some quality touches after coming on for the final 20 minutes.
Ruben Dias-6/10: Did what was required after coming on as a late substitute.
Josko Gvardiol- 6.5/10: Gvardiol was neat in possession as usual. He just oozes quality whenever he is on the pitch.
Nico O’Reilly-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
