Manchester City delivered a commanding performance, thrashing Sparta Praha 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.
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Phil Foden put the home side ahead just three minutes into the match, followed by a brace from Erling Haaland in the second half, a goal from John Stones, and a late penalty converted by Matheus Nunes.
This victory places City third in their group with seven points from three matches, trailing Aston Villa and Liverpool.
Manchester City Player Ratings vs Sparta Praha
Goalkeeper
Stefan Ortega – 7
An easy outing in goal for the Manchester City custodian, who was rarely challenged and finished the game with a clean sheet.
Defenders
Rico Lewis – 7.5
Laid four key passes on the night, a reflection of his creative brilliance, while completing over 90% of his passes.
John Stones – 8
Excellent distribution of the ball, held the fort well and made it two goals in two games by making it 3-0 for the Sky Blues.
Manuel Akanji – 7
The Swiss international slid the ball for Foden to fire their opening goal.
Nathan Ake – 7
Got forward superbly without ever renouncing his defensive responsibilities.
Midfielders
Ilkay Gundogan – 7
The German circulated the ball superbly to help maintain tempo.
Forwards
Savinho – 8
A force of nature down the left with his speed and dynamism, he also set up Haaland for his first of the evening.
Phil Foden – 8
Back in the Manchester City XI after his heroics off the bench at the weekend, Foden fired City in front after only three minutes into the kick-off.
Bernardo Silva – 7.5
Fed his cohorts with a series of crosses and completed over 90% of his passes.
Matheus Nunes – 9
A creative inspiration on the night with his vision, movement and creativity, Nunes bagged two assists on the night too before capping off a fine performance with a late penalty.
Erling Haaland – 9
Following a disappointing outing at the weekend, Haaland roared back into form with a clinical brace here.
Substitutes
James McAtee – 5
A complete non-factor for much of the evening.
Mateo Kovacic – 7
The Croatian controlled the tempo superbly and passed the ball around with great accuracy.
Josko Gvardiol – 7
Distributed the ball with fine precision.
Ruben Dias – 7
Made sure there are no last-minute concession of goals and that City get the clean sheet.
Nico O’Reilly – N/A
Came on for the last few minutes of the match.
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 8
A routine victory for Guardiola and co., as City turned on the style at the Etihad to bolster their progression hopes.
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Sparta Praha Player Ratings vs Manchester City
Goalkeeper
Peter Jensen – 5
Made five saves in the game but also conceded five as City ripped his defense apart.
Defenders
Martin Vitik – 7
With four clearances and three blocked shots, Vitik was an instrumental figure in defense, if only he had the support of everyone else too.
Filip Panak – 6.5
Tried his best but ultimately failed to compete with City’s quality forwards.
Asger Sorensen – 6
Made a staggering five clearances but was also dragged around the defense as the Sky Blues twisted him inside out.
Midfielders
Angelo Preciado – 6
Made five crosses and one key pass but looked sloppy in possession more often than not.
Kaan Kairinen – 4
Minimal involvement from him and should have been taken off much sooner.
Qazim Laci – 6.5
Made six tackles, three clearances and one block in a monumental effort.
Matej Rynes – 6.5
Tracked back several times to clear out any impending danger and never hesitated to jump into a tackle.
Forwards
Veljko Birmancevic – 5.5
Made a few efforts at goal but wasn’t clinical enough.
Victor Olatunji – 4
The striker was invisible for most of the time.
Lukas Haraslin – 6.5
Proved to be a creative inspiration for his side with three key passes.
Substitutes
Ermal Krasniqi – 5
Completely lacked the pace on the night.
Albion Rrahmani – 5.5
Regained the ball a few times but was largely on the fringes.
Krystof Danek – 4
Rarely got a sniff of the ball.
Tomas Wiesner – N/A
Came late on but didn’t have much to make any serious impact.
Markus Solbakken – N/A
Came alongside Wiesner with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
Manager
Lars Friis – 6
His side came into the game like a lamb in a slaughterhouse and despite their best efforts, were soundly beaten at the Etihad.
