There can’t have been many more one-sided Champions League matches than Manchester City’s victory over Slovan Bratislava.
The match was as good as over inside 15 minutes. Ilkay Gundogan gave them an eighth-minute lead before Phil Foden, restored to the starting line-up, added the second.
It will remain a mystery how it was only 2-0 at half-time, with the woodwork struck three times and Pep Guardiola’s side recording 14 shots in the first period.
City were wasteful after the break before Erling Haaland added a third in the 58th minute and substitute James McAtee made it four 16 minutes from time. They had 28 shots in all and 76.3 per cent possession.
The Athletic’s Sam Lee takes you through the talking points.
Doku delivered — but should he have produced more?
If the match seemed like a training drill for City then it was even more so for Jeremy Doku. City signed the winger in the summer of 2023 with the intention of playing him on the right-wing, but he has always preferred the left; he refused to play on the right in his early days at Anderlecht, and despite starting there for the first game of the season away to Chelsea, he and Savinho took it upon themselves to switch sides after 15 minutes, and both looked much better for it.
On Tuesday he looked far more comfortable on his supposedly stronger side, no doubt helped by the level of the opposition, but by the amount of times City found him in ideal situations, receiving the ball and being able to dribble at the left-back one-against-one, or simply arrive onto a running ball and apply a cross.
He played a big part in City’s two early goals, the first after standing up a cross to the back post — something Guardiola is keen on this season — which ended up with Gundogan striking from the edge of the area, and for Foden’s strike he provided a smart pass inside to complete a one-two with the England man.
City’s players would have found this a much more gentle test than they would find in the Premier League across the board, but Doku profited more than most because many of his side’s moves were designed to get him on the ball time and time again.
Doku was found constantly by City (Christian Hofer – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
He admitted after that Chelsea game that he needs to improve his end product, which is to be expected at 22, and nights like this will help; he created plenty, but had opportunities to do even more.
Are City wasteful?
In all honesty, City should have scored more than double the four that they ended up with, given the sheer amount of shots on goal they had and the quality of the chances. Some of that was down to bad luck, with City hitting the woodwork three times, but for a long stretch of the match they were too imprecise with their final pass or the finish.
Granted, the game was over early on after their two goals in 15 minutes, but as discussed following the 1-1 draw with Newcastle at the weekend, this City team is not exactly brimming with goals at the moment, with Haaland grabbing 71 percent of them in the league.
That will surely improve soon enough because players like Foden and Gundogan, who got those early goals, have proven their scoring ability several times over, and Kevin De Bruyne is back soon, too.
The wingers could do with chipping in some more, though, as could the centre-backs when it comes to dead-ball situations. Doku created plenty and could have done more, although Savinho struggled to impose himself on the game, as did Matheus Nunes through the middle.
Substitute James McAtee tucked in City’s fourth to match the scoreline more closely to the performance, which is a boost for him on a night when Nunes struggled to impose himself, even considering the quality of the opponents.
McAtee scored City’s fourth (Getty Images)
City equal United’s European record
This will have been the most straightforward of the lot but City’s victory in Slovakia equals the all-time unbeaten record in the Champions League/European Cup.
They have now not lost in regulation time for 25 matches, moving them level with Manchester United, who have been at the top of the rankings thanks to a run between 2007 and 2009.
These things do not include penalty shootouts and, of course, City were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Real Madrid last season, but statistics like these do highlight the club’s European prowess over the past few years.
Again, not including that Madrid shootout in April, City have not lost at home in Europe for 33 matches, a run that goes back to September 2018 (when Lyon beat a City side coached by Mikel Arteta with Guardiola serving a touchline ban). They have not lost away in 11 games, either.
City had been finding their feet in Europe in the years before Guardiola took over, only getting out of the group stage for the first time in 2013-14 and going beyond the last-16 just once. It took Guardiola’s men a few seasons to get to grips with the competition, too, but they have been in the mix since reaching their first final three years ago. They will have their sights set on lifting the trophy again in what is, as it stands, Guardiola’s final season in charge.
What did Guardiola say?
“We have to do our job, we did it and the group of players are fantastic. We played a good game, a lot of chances and the first three points of the competition.
“They started with a bit more courage to play but after the 2-0 and the chances they sat back like many many teams. Sometimes you have to attack quicker but yeah, good result.
“Juanma (Lillo, the assistant) said to me (about goal difference) but I am not thinking about that, maybe I am a bit conservative but winning your games will be enough. We have to make a point of points but we made the first victory and we see on the table we are a little bit higher, so it is nice.
“Gundogan played at the level that we know he can do it, the game at Newcastle (in the 1-1 draw) was not really really good, one of the worst I’ve ever seen from him in the past eight or nine years.
“Phil (Foden) is still not at his best, he made a fantastic goal. He did not shoot strong, just passed the ball to the post, I always say pass the ball to the post, not shoot. He had more chances but step by step he is coming back.”
What next for Manchester City?
Saturday, October 5: Fulham (Home), Premier League, 3pm UK, 10am ET
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(Top photo: Haaland celebrates his goal. Christian Bruna/Getty Images))
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