Without any opposition, with an abusive dominance and against a much weaker rival, Manchester City completed a procedure, beating Slovan Bratislava 0-4 and put aside its small crisis of results after three draws in its last four official matches.
Gündogan, Foden, Haaland and McAtee sealed the first three points in the group stage for Manchester City, whoIn his debut he had a puncture against Inter and needed to gain momentum in the competition with a victory. The four goals, which could have been many more, showed an overwhelming superiority that made clear the great difference that exists between some clubs in the new format of the competition.
The ‘citizen’ team had a peaceful night in Bratislava to return to winning ways after an erratic streak. The men led by Pep Guardiola found themselves the best possible rival to gain momentum after recording three draws and one victory in their last four games (they lost against Inter, Arsenal and Newcastle).
Slovan Bratislava, in its first participation in history in a group stage, was a puppet for Manchester City, who had no mercy on a rival that was already beaten by Celtic on the first day (5-1). But the Slovak team seems to know perfectly well what their role is in the Champions League.: their mission, to enjoy each match, which is a party for their fans despite the fact that, if there are no surprises, tough defeats are coming.
Furthermore, this time they had to deal with a team in need of three points. Manchester City had to hit the table to put an end to criticism of its doubtful results and Guardiola put a more than respectable eleven on the table with the only striking inclusion of goalkeeper Ortega, who sat Ederson on the bench.
The Spanish coach sensed that he was not going to have much work between the sticks and he was right.because City monopolized almost all the possession, close to 80 percent, and all the clear chances of the duel. It was a crushing dominance that bordered on abuse and in which Doku stood out, very insistent on the right side.
The Belgian winger enjoyed the clash, especially in the first half, in which time and again he unsettled Wimmer, unable to stop his pair’s attacks. And, for their part, Manchester City’s first two goals came, both served by Doku and finished off by Gündogan and Foden.
The first came early, after eight minutes, with a shot from outside the midfielder’s area. German that bounced off Savvidis to mislead goalkeeper Takac; and the second, after a quarter of an hour, with an exquisite left foot shot from Foden that ended Slovan Bratislava’s dream of achieving a casual tie.
Doku did not step on the brakes and then invented a shot that hit the right corner of the Slovakian goal. It preceded a one-on-one that Haaland missed and two other hits against the woodwork by Gündogan and Foden. Luck, without a doubt, saved Slovan Bratislava, who by centimeters, He was saved from going to the locker room with a scandalous score against him.
For the second half, coach Vladimir Weiss opted to widen the defense with the aim of stopping Savinho and Doku’s attacks. He wanted to avoid a bleeding and opened a hole in the center that Haaland took advantage of.who did not fail in his second one-on-one to debut in the Champions League, and the debutant in the competition McAtee, who closed the account after taking advantage of a pass filtered by Foden.
The final 0-4 put out the first outbreak of fire for City. They already know the victory in the Champions League, but, like the other match that Watford won in the erratic series, their rival, from a lower category, will not serve to gauge the reality of the English team. Slovan Bratislava, yes, could serve as a shuttle towards the true rebirth of Guardiola’s teamwhich next weekend will return to the reality of the Premier League.
MGC
