Erling Haaland ended his 10-game wait for a goal from open play as Manchester City defeated Galatasaray 2-0 on Wednesday, securing their spot in the Champions League last 16.
Rayan Cherki also scored for Pep Guardiola’s side, who benefited from favourable results elsewhere to climb into the top eight and avoid a challenging play-off next month.
“With a bit of drama, we did it,” said City captain Bernardo Silva. “Given the schedule and the number of injuries we currently have, having those two full weeks to prepare the team, recover some players, and focus on other competitions will be really beneficial.”
City are well aware of the dangers of the play-off round, having been eliminated at that stage by Real Madrid 12 months ago.
A week after an embarrassing
defeat to Bodo/Glimt that jeopardised their place in the top eight, City redeemed themselves against a Galatasaray side now facing the play-offs.
For Saturday’s 2-0 win over Wolves, Guardiola benched Haaland for the first time in the Premier League this season. Haaland’s only goal since December 27 before Wednesday had come from a penalty against Brighton.
However, Haaland displayed confidence, effortlessly lifting the ball over Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir from Jeremy Doku’s excellent through ball.
Doku also assisted the second goal, finding Cherki in the box, who struck low into the corner. Unfortunately, Doku’s departure due to an apparent hamstring injury was the sole downside for Guardiola.
“It’s a big miss,” said Guardiola. “Jeremy is such an important player for many reasons.”
With City competing for silverware in four competitions, they were keen to avoid adding two more games to an already congested February schedule.
Marc Guehi was ineligible to play in the Champions League, prompting Guardiola to field an experimental defence without centre-backs Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
Despite having Victor Osimhen up front, the Turkish champions failed to exploit City’s defensive vulnerabilities. The Nigerian’s shot, which Gianluigi Donnarumma saved just after the hour mark, was too close to the Italian goalkeeper.
Guardiola continued to patrol the touchline in the second half, but the decisive events were happening away from the Etihad Stadium, securing City’s place in the last 16.
Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat at Benfica and a 1-1 draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle prevented all three from finishing ahead of City.
In March, City could face one of four possible opponents in the last 16: Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Benfica, or Bodo/Glimt.
