Superb City Overcome Wobble To Down Donetsk In Group F
Second-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were enough for an in-form Manchester City side to continue their 100% Champions League record last night, with a 2-0 win over Ukrainian Giants Shakhtar Donetsk.
The visitors strolled into Manchester with a great swagger and resilience to their play, holding out well for 0-0 at the break.
But, once again, Pep Guardiola’s men proved too hot to handle in the Second-Half as they raced to a seventh successive victory in all Competitions.
However, the night could have been so much sweeter for the hosts as Sergio Aguero looked set to become City’s all-time leading scorer, only to see his penalty saved by Donetsk skipper Andriy Pyatov.
Guardiola had made just two changes from Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace as Fabian Delph replaced the injured Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus came in for Raheem Sterling whereas, Paulo Fonseca’s team featured the likes of exciting winger Taison, iconic keeper Andriy Pyatov, and Brazilian international Fred.
The first period would bring a surprise end to end 45 minutes as both Sides forced each other’s keepers into saves, with Ederson denying the likes of Marlos and Pyatov denying players such as Leroy Sane.
However, after half time, the balance of the tie would swing very much in one direction and it was a surprise to few the way it went.
Just three minutes into the half, Kevin De Bruyne intercepted the ball brilliantly in midfield before exchanging passes with David Silva and unleashing a wondrous effort into the top corner, giving Pyatov no chance as he broke the deadlock.
Proceedings soon looked to be turning into a fitting moment for a Blue Moon legend as Ivan Ordets’ contentious foul on Sane offered Aguero the chance to surpass Eric Book and re-write the history books from the penalty spot.
But, Pyatov saved to spoil the mood inside The Etihad Stadium and deny the fans a chance to see a piece of football history at first hand, the Argentine will have to wait until Saturday evening’s trip to Stamford Bridge for his next chance.
Nevertheless, the home fans were treated to another goal to send them away satisfied.
Raheem Sterling, initially picking up the run of and playing in, showed great determination to cover a considerable amount of ground to get on the end of the Portuguese’s delivery to cap off another wonderful night for Manchester City.
The England winger has now bagged six goals in all Competitions in this campaign so far and for City, its top of The Premier League and top of Group F heading into Autumn.
Meanwhile, The Miners will be back in Ukrainian Premier League action on Sunday as they take on Karpaty Lviv and sit second behind City in the Group.
As for The Champions League, that returns for these two Sides next month as The Blue Moon host Napoli and Donetsk travel to Feyenoord.