Fast and furious, City came out firing in an impressive 3-1 away victory that will go down as one of their best ever in European history. Early goals from Sterling and Fernandinho silenced the home fans and, despite being pegged back by a Benoit Tremoulinas goal, a late first-half goal from Wilfried Bony followed and was enough to earn all 3 points. This seen City go top of group D and qualify early for the round of 16, as Monchengladbach could only manage a 1-1 draw to 10 man Juventus.
Another pre-match Champions League anthem was again drowned out by the boos and jeers of over 2000 travelling blues in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. The same protests that was the cause of City’s recent charge by UEFA, and the same protests that supporters of the club have vowed to keep on venting.
Pellegrini made two changes to the side that triumphed over Norwich on Saturday; Fernando coming in for Kelechi Iheanacho and Raheem Sterling replacing Kevin de Bruyne in attack. Although in great form, de Bruyne was needing a well-earned rest as he seemed tired last weekend and this meant Yaya Toure joined the Brazilian boys in midfield with Sterling and Navas supplying Bony from out-wide.
An incredibly entertaining and end-to-end first 45 saw both sides create chances, but, it would be the counter-attacking style of City that proved to be too much for the Sevilla defence to handle. The pace of Sterling and Navas, the energy of the midfield trio and the elite hold up play of Bony overwhelmed Unai Emery’s side and built up enough of an advantage for City to hold onto in the second-half to win the game.
Stand out performers
Firstly, I would like to highlight the performance the Brazilian duo put in last night. Fernandinho and Fernando rarely get to play together for City, but when they do, they are fantastic and, for me, they’re a vital part to any significant/tricky away fixture in the coming season. The protection they provide for the back four and their ability to close down space and win the ball back combined with a developing technical ability on the ball is imperative. They were the ignition of many City counter attacks last night and their energy was inspiring.
This could well have been that game for Raheem Sterling last night. He was confident on the ball, his movement was as clever as ever and he was finally running at defenders. Since joining City, I’ve thought that young Raheem has been too slow on ball and not as direct as he was once was over in Merseyside. However, last night’s performance truly showcased the threat in which the tricky winger possesses and he is slowing becoming an elite player for City.
Finally, Yaya Toure playing in a more advanced role last night was brilliant. His transition from defense into attack was flawless and his distribution going forward to link up with Bony was genius. Despite the popular belief that Toure can’t defend and with his position more advanced than usual, the Ivorian didn’t forget about his defensive duties and provided valuable cover when needed.
Tactical Diversity
A change in system was implemented by Manuel last night, and it worked. The decision to bring Fernando in the central midfield role and allow Fernandinho and Yaya to push forward more supplied the City wingers with more space out wide and they used this space very efficiently. This could well be the main reason Kevin de Bruyne was left out of the starting XI, as Raheem’s pace would be more useful than the subtle skill of de Bruyne in this new system.
Whether you seen the new system as a variation on the 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1, it doesn’t matter, it’s new and it’s exciting. It was a masterclass from Manuel to demonstrate that his team is versatile and threatening at the same time in a game of such importance.
Final word
Last night was a message. Despite not fielding De Bruyne, Aguero and Silva joined together with Sevilla’s incredible home record displayed just how strong this City squad is. It was certainly a message that was sent to any team possibly facing City in the last 16, that the Manchester club can actually do it in Europe.
