Manchester City continue their impressive start to this Champions League campaign.
On Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola’s team comfortably swatted aside Villarreal, prevailing 2-0 at Estadio de la Cerámica, with Erling Braut Håland, who else, breaking the deadlock, before Bernardo Silva’s close-range header on the cusp of half time made the points secure.
This takes the Citizens’ points tally to seven, having beaten ten-man Napoli 2-0 on opening night, before that frustrating 2-2 draw with Monaco in the Principality.
Well, considering the Sky Blues finished 22nd in last year’s league phase, only enjoying victories over Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague and Club Brugge, they’re in a much better place this time round, with back-to-back home games against Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen up next.
While the goalbot himself will once again earn all the headlines, another Man City star showcased what he can offer at el Madrigal, putting in a fine display reminiscent of a club great from the not too distant past.
Erling Haaland's ridiculous Champions League record
Håland’s opener on Tuesday was his 15th goal of the season already; having also bagged both during the weekend win over Everton, the Norwegian has now been responsible for 65% of all goals his team have scored in the Premier League or Champions League this season.
His record in UEFA’s top-tier competition is also mind-boggling, only getting better and better.
In 51 Champions League appearances, he has now scored 53 goals, thereby averaging a goal every 78 minutes.
Adding Villarreal to the list, Håland has now scored against 20 different opponents in the competition, very much hoping Bayer Leverkusen, Bodø/Glimt and Galatasaray will join his list of victims come the end of the league phase.
Overall, only eight men in history have scored more Champions League goals than the 25-year-old, just three behind Ruud van Nistelrooy and only four adrift of Thomas Müller.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record of 140 goals in 183 matches may seem a long way off at the moment, but it is very much in his sights.
If Manchester City as a team are going to win the Premier League and Champions League this season, they are going to need their other attacking players to come to the fore, so Guardiola will be encouraged that one certainly did just that in Eastern Spain this week.
Manchester City's Sane-esque star
Arguably, when Manchester City were at their best under Pep Guardiola, during the 100-point season, was back when they had Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané as their wingers.
The German scored 39 goals and registered 44 assists in 135 appearances in sky blue, reaching double figures for both in back-to-back Premier League seasons, at which point Guardiola described him as “intelligent” and a “fantastic player”, also adding “he’s so fast”.
Well, one could argue Man City have not had wingers of that calibre since then, but is Savinho growing into that role?
Since arriving from within the City Football Group for £31m in the summer of 2024, the Brazilian international has scored just four goals for the club, but shone against Villarreal, as the table below documents.
Shots on target
1
2nd
Big chances missed
1
1st
Successful dribbles
5
1st
Dribbles success %
100%
1st
Key passes
5
1st
Big chances created
3
1st
Duels won
6
4th
Touches
59
7th
As the table documents, Savinho ranks first for the vast majority of attacking metrics, registering five key passes, creating three big chances and completing all five dribbles he attempted, while only Håland mustered more shots on target on the night, which is par for the course in any match.
Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News asserted that this was ‘one of his best games’ for the club, awarding him an 8/10 rating, while Richard Martin of Goal noted that his ‘trickery… tormented Villarreal’ all night.
When he joined the club last summer, Umir Irfan of BBC Sport outlined how Savinho was “Sane-esque”, praising his pressing and pace, as well as the Brazilian’s ball-carrying ability and goal threat.
Well, all of this was on show and more at Estadio de la Cerámica on Tuesday, with Savinho putting in a sparkling display, reminiscent of Sané at his peak in Manchester, both an electrifying winger while also offering genuine end product.
This was actually only his fifth start of the season, one of which came in the Carabao Cup, very much part of Guardiola’s rotation in attacking areas, alongside Jérémy Doku, Oscar Bobb, Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and others.
However, he has started each of the last three Premier League games, thereby very much expected to be in the lineup that walks out at Villa Park on Sunday, and will continue to be a key figure in Man City’s push for silverware.
