Haaland scores, Man City wins big in Champions League

The away match against the underdogs Slovan was an opportunity for coach Pep Guardiola to rotate his squad. Ortega replaced Ederson in goal, Dias was rested and replaced by John Stones to pair up with Akanji at centre-back.

In midfield, Matheus Nunes was used instead of Kovacic alongside Gundogan. Phil Foden played as a playmaker for Erling Haaland, while the two wings of the attack belonged to Doku and Savinho.

While the home fans were still in their seats, they almost got to enjoy the joy when Tolic's shot went just wide of the Man City post.

The reigning English champions responded fiercely in the 8th minute. Doku attempted to cross the ball into the penalty area, Savinho volleyed it into an opponent and it bounced off. Gundogan immediately kicked the rebound, hitting another home player and flying into the net.

Riding on the momentum, Man City doubled the lead just 7 minutes later. Foden coordinated with Doku and then unleashed a left-footed shot, sending the ball into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Dominik Takac helpless.

Despite scoring 2 goals, it must be said that the away team was unlucky when the ball hit the post and crossbar 3 times from the finishes of Doku, Foden and captain Gundogan.

After much effort, Erling Haaland finally got his first goal in the Champions League this season. In the 58th minute, the Norwegian striker got down to receive a pass from Rico Lewis, easily got past goalkeeper Slovan before putting the ball into an empty net. Haaland has 42 goals in 41 appearances in the Champions League.

The fate of the match was decided in the 74th minute when Haaland's replacement McAtee received a pass from Foden and finished hard into the near corner, sealing a 4-0 victory for Man City.

With the victory in Slovakia, The Citizens have equaled MU's record of 25 consecutive unbeaten matches (17 wins, 8 draws) in the European Cup. This is also the 10th unbeaten match of Pep Guardiola's team since the beginning of the season, including 6 wins.

Line-up:

Slovan Bratislava (4-2-3-1):Dominik Takac, Cesar Blackman, Guram Kashia, Kenan Bajric, Kevin Wimmer, Kyriakos Savvidis, Danylo Ignatenko (Szoke 63'), Tigran Barseghyan, Marko Tolic (Pauschek 78'), Vladimir Weiss (Sharani 63'), David Strelec (Marcelli 78').

Man City (4-2-3-1): Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji (Dias 61'), John Stones, Josko Gvardiol (Walker 78'), Matheus Nunes, İlkay Gundogan, Savinho, Phil Foden (Grealish 78'), Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland (McAtee 61').