Manchester City achieved a wide victory over its guest Sparta Prague (5-0) at the Etihad Stadium, today, Wednesday, as part of the third round of the Champions League.
The English team's goals came from Phil Foden (3rd minute), Erling Haaland (58th and 68th minutes), John Stones (64th minute) and Matthews Nunez (88th minute).
With this victory, Man City jumped to third place in the Champions League standings by reaching point 7, while Prague’s balance froze at 4 points in 18th place.
City did not give its guest the opportunity to enter the atmosphere of the match, and succeeded from the first attempt to advance with a goal from a creeping shot fired by Foden from the edge of the penalty area.
Goalkeeper Peter Vendal prevented City from doubling the score after he brilliantly blocked a powerful header from which Haaland met a cross from the left side towards the far corner.
Brage launched a lightning counter-attack through Preciado, who drove the ball a long distance until he crossed the middle of the home team's field before trying to take advantage of Ortega's advance from his goal with a volley from a long distance, which was not accurate enough.
Haaland returned to meet a new cross from the right side, directing a header with one of the defenders crowding him, and the Prague goalkeeper caught the ball twice.
Haaland almost scored the hosts' second goal with a header, but the intervention of a defender prevented the ball from crossing the goal line, turning into a quick counterattack, which Permancevic ended with a creeping low shot from inside the penalty area, which Ortega blocked brilliantly.
Foden returned to threaten Prague's goal with a powerful shot in the middle of the goal, and goalkeeper Fendal was waiting for it.
Foden wanted to practice his favorite hobby by shooting curved shots from outside the penalty area, but his attempt failed after the ball passed near the left post, before the end of the first half, with Man City leading (1-0).
At the beginning of the second half, City repeated the scoring scenario with a second early goal from Aki, but the referee canceled it after it was discovered that there was a handball at the beginning of the attack following a review by the “VAR”.
Haaland continued his repeated attempts at vertical strikes, but Vendal was on the lookout again.
Haaland broke the steadfastness of the Braga goalkeeper after he found another solution via a cross pass from the right side of the situation, flying, directing the ball with his left hand in an acrobatic manner into the net.
This goal opened the way for the heavenly team to prey on its guest after Stones succeeded, shortly after, in scoring the third goal with a perfect header.
This was before Haaland returned to score against Braga with a shot with his right from the edge of the penalty area in the far right corner, scoring his second and the fourth for his team.
After the quartet, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola decided to rest some of his stars by making a successive set of substitutions, giving others the opportunity to express themselves.
A few minutes before the end of normal time, Preciado committed a violation against Nunez, as a result of which the referee awarded a penalty kick to City, which the latter jumped in to execute, scoring his team’s fifth goal.