'Brilliant' Man City ease into Champions League last 16 as Haaland closes in on record

Jack Grealish praised "brilliant" Manchester City as the holders eased into the Champions League knockout stages with two matches to spare after Tuesday night's 3-0 victory over Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland passed a late fitness test to score twice, the first a penalty, either side of Phil Foden's goal in first-half injury time to ensure City made it four wins from four in Group G. Haaland was fit to start after hurting his ankle in the first half of City's 6-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth on Saturday. And the Norway striker showed there was no lingering injury issue as he took his Champions League goal tally to a remarkable 39 in 34 matches. He put City ahead with a first-half penalty and netted again with a brilliant long-range effort after Foden's eye-catching strike doubled the holders' lead. Young Boys had Sandro Lauper sent off in the second half of a one-sided contest that extended City's impressive streak of winning all 23 of their home games in 2023. Sunderland hold the English record with 24 successive home wins, a mark that dates back to 1891 and 1892. "[Pep] Guardiola gives us so much. In my opinion, he’s the best manager in the world," midfielder Grealish said. "He’s shown that over the years. You can have the best manager in the world, but you also need the team and dressing room to do that. "We have a brilliant team, on the pitch and also off the pitch, we have a team that is so close. We love being with each other and we love playing with each other and that shows on the pitch." City are unbeaten in their past 17 Champions League games and Guardiola now has the opportunity to rest players in the last two group matches if he wishes, giving him the option to prioritise Premier League fixtures against Tottenham and Crystal Palace. Grealish, 28, admitted it was important for City to secure their place in the knockout stage as early as possible to allow the squad the opportunity to rotate. "Most of the time we’re in most competitions, so to qualify with two games to spare, that’s what we wanted to do, that was our aim," he said. "We won 3-0, but on another day we could have got five or six." Haaland's double moved the Norwegian to the brink of another goalscoring record. He now has 39 Champions League goals from 34 appearances and is poised to break the record for fewest appearances to reach 40 goals, currently held by Ruud van Nistelrooy (45 games). Haaland's first goal came from a penalty while Guardiola described his second – a left-footed rocket from 20 yards – as "amazing". "Normally Erling scores goals, six-yard box, 18-yard box he has this talent, not the first time he has done it," the Spanish manager said. "Yeah, that was a fantastic goal." Guardiola said Haaland was given the green light to play after a training session on Monday. The 23-year-old forward was withdrawn in Saturday's game against Bournemouth at half time with a suspected ankle injury. With the game all but won with City leading 3-0 after 51 minutes, Haaland was substituted for the final half-hour as Guardiola aims to keep his star striker fit for Sunday's Premier League clash at Chelsea. "I didn't speak with him, we saw in the training session how he moved and how happy he was," Guardiola said. "He feels good, so he plays. The job was almost done, take a rest for next Sunday."

'Brilliant' Man City ease into Champions League last 16 as Haaland closes in on record

Norwegian striker scores twice in 3-0 win over Young Boys to ensure holders reach knockout stage with two matches to spare