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Manchester City brush aside Club Brugge, move to the top of Group A

By Harsha Movva

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Riyad Mahrez (Hidden) of Manchester City celebrates with team mates (L - R) Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden after scoring their side's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on March 10, 2021 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Riyad Mahrez (Hidden) of Manchester City celebrates with team mates (L - R) Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden after scoring their side's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on March 10, 2021 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Manchester City defeats Club Brugge with a 5-1 scoreline in a Group A fixture of Matchday 3 of UEFA Champions League at the Jan Breydel Stadium. They move to the top of their group with this handsome victory.

The contest started pretty even after the possession being shared in the first 25 minutes. City were edging ahead ever so slightly as the game progressed. Cityzens opened their account in the 30th minute after a brilliant through ball from Phil Foden was netted by Joao Cancelo, who had an outing to remember.

The second goal for Manchester City came in the dying minutes of the first half in form of a penalty kick due to a foul committed by the French Centre-back Stanley Nsoki on Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian sent the ball soaring into the bottom right corner of the Brugge net.

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Defending Premier League champions started the second passage of play on a rather passive not with Club Brugge playing an unusual high press. Kevin De Bruyne after having an under-par first half by his standards made up for it with an assist to Right-back Kyle Walker in the 53rd minute.

Both the substitutes, Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer combined to provide Manchester City a massive 4-0 lead in the 67th minute of the match, where the former assisted with a cross from the left and the latter finished it rather comprehensively.

The Belgian Club got their consolidation in the final few minutes of the game after Hans Vanaken was able to beat Ederson to his right with a clinical finish. But City cut short their celebrations with a whooping 5th goal from the ever so impressive Riyad Mahrez in the 84th minute.

After emphatically starting their UCL campaign with a crushing 6-3 victory over RB Leipzig, many eyebrows were raised against Pep Guardiola’s men when they slumped to a 0-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

With a thumping 5-0 win over Club Brugge and with two of their next three group stage fixtures at the Etihad, expect City to come out all guns blazing. Is a top-of-the-table finish on the cards? Will Manchester City be able to achieve their major piece of silverware this year, after falling at the last hurdle in the previous one?

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