Haaland scores brace as City book their spot in the last 16

• Manchester City booked their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage after securing a 3-0 win over Young Boys
• Last season’s treble winners have progressed past the group stages of the Champions League for the 11th season in a row

Manchester City booked their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage after securing a 3-0 win over Young Boys. Erling Haaland, who was surprisingly included in the starting eleven, grabbed another brace as City extended their unbeaten home run in the Champions League to 25 matches.

Phil Foden also appeared on the scoresheet, with Young Boys’ Sandro Lauper sent off at 3-0. Injuries to Manuel Akanji and John Stones were the only negatives on an otherwise perfect evening for Pep Guardiola’s side. Speaking after the match, Guardiola said he was happy with the fact that City had progressed while stressing the importance of finishing top ahead of German side RB Leipzig.

Manchester City are through to Champions League knockout stages after beating Young Boys 3-0. Photo/ Loop Jamaica – Loop News.

“We are incredibly happy to have qualified with two games left. Finish first. We have time to think about it. We were not soft enough in the last moment to score more goals. But I love to see the team. The word that defines this group of players for many years is the consistency. We have high standards and that is why we are still in the Premier League up there and qualified from the Champions League.” Sky Sports quotes City boss Pep Guardiola.

Last season’s treble winners have progressed past the group stages of the Champions League for the 11th season in a row. The victory over Young Boys was City’s 18th game in a row without defeat in the competition, which sets a new record for longest unbeaten run by an English side in Europe. The Cytizens surpassed West Ham’s run of 17 between August 2022 – October 2023.

With the surprise inclusion of Erling Haaland in City’s starting eleven, Young Boys were always up against it at the Etihad Stadium. However, they did well in the opening quarter of the match before eventually conceding.

Loris Benito made a clearance off the line to prevent Rico Lewis’ effort from going in before goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi produced a double save to deny Kyle Walker and Phil Foden.

City’s wait for a goal came to an end in the 23rd minute when Erling Haaland converted a penalty. This was after Sandro Lauper caught Matheus Nunes in the area.

Phil Foden doubled City’s lead before the break, finding the net after collecting Jack Grealish’s curling pass and skipping past Ulisses Garcia. The 23-year-old has been involved in 19 goals across his last 21 starts for Manchester City at the Etihad (12 goals, 7 assists).

Erling Haaland smashed home his second of the night from the edge of the box six minutes after the break. The Norwegian took his Champions League tally to 39 in 34 matches with the brilliant goal.

Erling Haaland scored two goals as Manchester City cruised past Young Boys in the Champions League. Photo/ Football365.

Young Boys’ Sandro Lauper was shown a second yellow following a foul on Nathan Ake two minutes after Haaland’s third goal. Despite being one-man down, the Swiss side defended well and didn’t concede another goal until the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the match.