Manchester City defeat Olympiacos 1-0 to qualify for the knockouts

The goals were not flowing, but in the end Phil Foden’s strike was enough to earn Manchester City a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Despite a floundering domestic campaign, Manchester City kept the results coming in Europe with a tight 1-0 win against Olympiacos to seal progression to the knockout stage of the Champions League. This match saw the return of the much-maligned Benjamin Mendy, whom alongside John Stones was able to keep a clean sheet in Greece.

City are through a weak group, and while this is a positive, there should not be many takeaways. City have progressed from poor groups before in similar fashion in recent seasons before capitulating in the knockouts. That’s not to downplay the achievement; you have to get through the group before anything that comes next, but City are not suddenly world beaters.

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Pep Guardiola, however, has been more optimistic about the team’s chances in Europe than we have ever seen during his tenure at the Etihad. If he is correct about this team’s chances (which he has been in recent years when he downplayed their ability to win the Champions League), they will need to seal top spot, and then show serious improvement in the league before the knockouts begin.

City will now have two matches to ensure top spot and make crucial squad rotations given the intense run of fixtures the team has been on. The team has done everything right in Europe so far this season, and an 18-point group stage seems more than possible. This win is a step in the right direction, but given what we’ve seen in the league this season, it’s not time to jump to conclusions just yet.