Manchester City were back to their free-scoring best on Wednesday night as they destroyed Sparta Prague 5-0 in the Champions League.
There was no late drama like in Sunday’s win over Wolves as Manchester City took the lead before three minutes were on the clock through Phil Foden.
A frustrating half followed but Pep Guardiola’s side turned up the heat after the break and scored three times in quick succession to cruise to victory.
Erling Haaland bagged a ridiculous overhead, spinning, back-heel scorpion kick (really), John Stones nodded in another header and Haaland scored again to secure the three points.
Haaland turned down the chance to complete yet another hat-trick late on when he gave a penalty to Matheus Nunes, who fired home emphatically for five.
Here are five things we learned from the match.
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The injury issues are mounting
City suffered two more injury blows before the game even began when it was revealed Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku are the latest players sidelined.
Guardiola was hopeful Grealish would be back after 10 days at most but was less specific on Doku’s potential return.
He told TNT Sports before the match: “Injured, both. Jeremy [Doku] a little longer than Jack [Grealish], but both are injured after the last games.
“I don’t know [how long they will be out for]. Hopefully, Jack will be maybe one week, 10 days, Jeremy a little longer.”
City’s squad is so depleted that Guardiola could only name seven substitutes against Sparta, with two of them goalkeepers.
The attacking pair join Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and long-term absentees Rodri and Oscar Bobb in the treatment room, with City’s injury issues mounting by the game.
Thankfully, the fixture list over the next few weeks looks relatively kind but, as Wolves showed on Sunday, no game is a guaranteed victory. It’s reaching a pivotal period of the season and the number of injuries could prove costly.
Yet, it’s also a great chance for the likes of Matheus Nunes, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly to potentially get more minutes.
Nunes and Savinho step up
Given City took a heavy blow to their wide attacking options, Guardiola would have been delighted to see both Savinho and Nunes step up to the plate and deliver excellent displays on Wednesday.
Savinho was his electric best, always looking to twist and turn the poor full-back tasked with tracking his rapid runs. It was the Brazilian who teed up Haaland’s absurd first goal with some delightful wing play.
The bigger surprise was Nunes, though, who had a brilliant shift on the left flank.
The Portuguese has looked useful a couple of times on the left already this season but this display could have made it his new home.
Nunes was industrial in pressing and tracking back, efficient in possession and capable of flair on occasion. He picked up two assists in a matter of minutes with a great cross for Stones and a lovely pass into Haaland.
He also grabbed his first Champions League goal with a confident penalty.
We might be seeing a lot more of Nunes in the position in the weeks to come.
Bernardo has gone up in the leadership pecking order
With Walker and De Bruyne injured and Ruben Dias rested, the captain’s armband was up for grabs on Wednesday night and Bernardo Silva was the one to wear it.
That’s despite former captain Ilkay Gundogan starting as well as the likes of Stones and Manuel Akanji, all senior figures in the squad.
That suggests Bernardo himself has moved up in the leadership group at the squad, which is fully deserved given his influence and importance to the team.
City’s weakness on the counter
Guardiola was visibly frustrated throughout the first half and his unhappiness was obvious when the half-time whistle blew.
City might have taken the lead within minutes but they failed to capitalise on their early start and gave Sparta several chances to get level.
The visitors did not travel to Manchester to park the bus and actually played some nice stuff.
They managed to expose City’s continued weakness several times as they countered with pace and precision, getting in behind a defence that remains slow on the turn on a few occasions.
The Blues got away with it but against tougher opposition they will – and have – been punished. It’s an issue that stems from Rodri’s absence and has still not been solved.
Phil Foden looks good in Europe again
It’s been a slow start to the Premier League season for Foden as he continues to find his rhythm but he’s been loving life in the Champions League.
After scoring against Slovan Bratislava last time out, the Stockport Iniesta was at it again against Sparta and netted an excellent solo goal within three minutes.
Foden took the ball smoothly on the turn and shrugged off a challenge before finding the bottom corner.
It was an excellent goal and the rest of his performance was promising in a central role with him constantly involved in City’s attacks – with a fine pass in the build-up to the fourth.
Following his late assist against Wolves, hopefully, Foden will start getting back to his best in domestic competition.
Nathan Ake is back
Though two players joined the injury list, City at least welcomed Nathan Ake back to the team for just the second time this season.
The Dutch defender picked up a hamstring strain while playing for his country in the September international break and spent over a month recovering.
Ake put in a solid display against the rapid Sparta winger and was unfortunate to see a goal on his return disallowed for handball.
Though Josko Gvardiol will be the first-choice left-back, Ake’s return is a welcome boost to Guardiola.
