Man City v Young Boys LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as City cruise into knockouts
Man City 3-0 Young Boys: City qualified for the knockout stages with two games to spare after brushing aside their Swiss opponents
Manchester City qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds with a comfortable and comprehensive victory over Swiss side Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola decided to risk starting Erling Haaland for the game after the striker was subbed off early at the weekend. It proved a great decision as the Norwegian opened the scoring, converting a penalty won by Matheus Nunes being brought down in the box.
City never looked uncomfortable and when the second goal went in, netted by a lovely finish from Phil Foden after he received a cross field pass from Jack Grealish, the hosts knew the game was done.
Sandro Lauper made a tough night more difficult for the visitors by getting himself sent off after accumulating two yellow cards but the last word went to Haaland. He added City’s third with a glorious strike across the box that saw the ball rocket into the far top corner.
Relive the Champions League action below plus get the latest odds and tips for this match right here:
Man City 0-0 Young Boys
3 mins: Rico Lewis is played into the right hand side of the box and turns with the ball. He threads it back to Mateo Kovacic who dinks a pass over to Phil Foden.
Foden has a sight at goal but decides to pass instead and lifts his short cross over everyone’s heads and out for a goal kick.
Kick off! Man City 0-0 Young Boys
Manchester City get the match started and knock the ball nicely around the back line. It comes out to Phil Foden on the right wing and he’s taken out but a strong tackle.
Manchester City vs Young Boys
Here come the teams.
Kyle Walker is starting for Manchester City and is a late replacement for Manuel Akanji in the line-up. The Champions League anthem is played and the players look ready to go.
Kick off is up next...
Manchester City vs Young Boys
It’s a rainy night in Manchester but that won’t bother Pep Guardiola’s men who are hoping to clinch qualification for the knockout rounds this evening.
Swiss side Young Boys are their opposition and will hope to improve on their 3-1 defeat from last time out.
Manchester City vs Young Boys
Pep Guardiola’s side have won their Champions League group for six successive seasons.
City went on to win the Champions League for the first time in 2022/23, beating Inter 1-0 in the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul thanks to a second-half goal from Rodri.
They had finished top of Group G before knockout wins against RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and holders Real Madrid with the final victory bringing Guardiola level with Zinédine Zidane and Bob Paisley to three European Cup wins as a coach in total.
Only Carlo Ancelotti has more with four.
Manchester City vs Young Boys
Man City’s only previous games against a Swiss club before this season came in the 2017/18 Champions League round of 16, when they won the first leg 4-0 at Basel thanks to two Ilkay Gundogan goals and one each from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Pep Guardiola’s side progressed despite a 2-1 home second-leg defeat.
This is City’s 13th successive Champions League group appearance; they have featured every season since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last 10 campaigns.
Rico Lewis on Kyle Walker’s impact
Rico Lewis took the pre-match press conferenc alongside Pep Guardiola and reflected about playing alongside Kyle Walker saying: “When I came in, I was playing full-back. I was stood next to him [Kyle] and that helped me a lot.
“I don’t need too much information in one game. He is one of the best full-backs to play in the Premier League, so anything I can take from him [is great].
“He’s always been a captain with the armband or without. He plays with so much passion so it was a no brainer that he could be captain. Everyone has that leadership.”
Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City stars to be ‘angry’ if they are not picked
Pep Guardiola hopes anger at missing out can fuel more sensational performances like that of Jeremy Doku at the weekend.
Doku took centre stage as Manchester City thrashed Bournemouth 6-1 to return to the top of the Premier League on Saturday, opening the scoring and setting up four other goals.
That came after Jack Grealish was preferred to him for last week’s derby victory over Manchester United, and manager Guardiola now wants the England midfielder, in turn, to come back firing.
Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City stars to be ‘angry’ if they are not picked
Jeremy Doku turned on the style against Bournemouth after missing the Manchester derby.
Guardiola looking to secure knockout rounds qualification
If Manchester City earnback-to-back wins against Young Boys, it would be the 11th consecutive season they had made it through the group stages of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola says that alone serves as the perfect incentive for his players to try and sela qualification tonight.
“Incredible. We have to try tomorrow to finish,” the City boss said in a pre-match press conference on Monday. “Of course We have two more opportunities but when you have the chance to finish and qualify for the next stage in February it means a lot for the club and the staff from Roberto Mancini’s side and Manuel Pellegrini.
“For many years being qualified is such a success for the club and being there is such a success for the Club. It’s really, really good.
“We will try to be calm and prepare for the game Tomorrow we will try to be there, as I reviewed the game in Switzerland, and we struggled a lot at 1-1. They created problems behind.
“We have to adjust some things because they did well in the first game. Hopefully, we can finish the job.”
Guardiola on tonight’s match
"We will try to finish and qualify for February and the next stage," said Pep Guardiola ahead of the game. "It means a lot to the club. Being there is a success.
"It’s so important, more than you can imagine, because we can park the car until February and focus on the Premier League and others. We have to close it on Tuesday.
"You have to try to finish first. We have the chance to play the second game [of the last 16] at home and that is definitely better."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments