City took complete control of their Champions League play-off tie on Tuesday night with a comfortable 5-0 win over Steaua Bucuresti in Romania, with goals from David Silva, a Sergio Aguero treble and a first for the club from Nolito sealing the win and assuring qualification for the group stages with 90 minutes still to play.
Some nerves remained before the game after City struggled to create chances during the Premier League opening day fixture against Sunderland on Saturday, having to rely on a penalty and an own goal from ex-Manchester United man Paddy McNair to earn them the three points.
However, any worries were subdued early on when Raheem Sterling won a penalty in the seventh minute – not much further into the match than the one he earned at the weekend. Sergio Aguero stepped up to take it as on Saturday, and put it in the same place, but Steaua keeper Florin Nita was equal to it, while Nolito could only hit the bar with the rebound.
That could have proved a bad omen, were it not for Raheem Sterling. The winger, who looks revitalised under Pep Guardiola, worked hard to dispossess a defender near his own box, before cutting in and crossing low for Silva. The Spaniard was only going to oblige, calmly firing past Nita to open the scoring.
It looked to get even better for City, when Gabriel Enache clattered into Kolarov. Again, Aguero stepped up, but clipped the bar with this one as it flew over. The Blues started to rue that as Steaua worked their way into the game following the miss, and Caballero had to come to the rescue when the Romanian side got through, with the Argentine saving with his legs.
Thankfully, Sergio Aguero atoned for his misses and doubled the lead on 41 minutes. Silva crossed the ball from the left, with Raheem Sterling (involved again, getting his second assist of the game) laying it off for Sergio, who was happy to almost pass it into the bottom-right corner.
After half-time, it was clear the game was already essentially over, with Nolito netting his first goal for City on 49 minutes. Kevin De Bruyne got the assist, taking the majority of the Steaua defence out of play with a beautiful pass, allowing the summer signing from Celta Vigo to round the keeper and slot home.
City continued to press after that, forcing Nita into some superb saves, but Aguero finally broke through and got The Blues’ fourth, and his second, on 78 minutes. An intricate passing move – like nothing we’ve ever seen from City before – eventually found it’s way to Sergio, who rolled it coolly into the far corner.
But the Argentine wasn’t finished there. In the 89th minute, he latched onto a ball from Fernandinho, running through and curling it past the Steaua goalkeeper to get his hat-trick via the post. He collapsed on the ground in celebration, a reflection of the effort and performance he put in despite the two penalties missed in the first 20 minutes.
The crushing 5-0 victory was a reflection of just how dominant City were, having nigh on 25 shots – in stark contrast to Saturday. It may only be Steaua Bucuresti, but the play was a lot smoother than it was at the weekend, with the fluidity improved as well. Qualification for the group stages is already assured, and Pep should be able to play a weakened team next week thanks to the efforts of his stars in Romania.
Particular mention must again go to Raheem Sterling, who played an integral part for the majority of the game. Winning a penalty and getting two assists would have been unimaginable for the Englishman last year, and shows how much Guardiola has been able to accomplish with him in such little time.
