Tag: Pep Guardiola

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UCL LAST 16: JUDE BELLINGHAM LATE STRIKE HELP MADRID GET FIRST LEG LEAD AT MANCHESTER CITY

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham greets supporters after winning the Champions League playoff first leg soccer match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Jude Bellingham grabbed a late winner as Manchester City twice surrendered the lead to lose the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid 3-2.

Erling Haaland put City ahead in each half in a thrilling contest at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday but the holders replied through Kylian Mbappe and substitute Brahim Diaz.

Both sides hit the woodwork in a game of numerous chances but it was England international Bellingham who had the final say in stoppage time.

The game lived up to its pre-match billing as the two European heavyweights – winners of the competition for the last three seasons – clashed for a place in the last 16.

It is the fourth season in succession the sides have been paired in the knockout stages and the stage is set for another epic clash at the Bernabeu Stadium next week.

After all their injury problems at centre-back this season, City manager Pep Guardiola managed to field five players who would consider that position their first choice.

Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol played the full-back roles either side of fit-again Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias, while John Stones took up the midfield position in which he excelled in the 2023 treble-winning campaign.

This back line soon had their work cut out as Madrid created a succession of chances in the space of just a few minutes early on.

The home supporters had greeted the visitors with a huge banner referencing Real’s boycott of last year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in protest at City midfielder Rodri’s crowning ahead of their own Vinicius Junior.

“Stop Crying Your Heart Out,” the wording read, alongside a picture of the now-injured Rodri kissing his trophy.

It appeared this might have inspired Vinicius as the Brazilian was at the heart of Real’s slick attacking play.

He first raced onto a long ball and was hacked down in the area by Ederson. The referee awarded a penalty but City were reprieved by an offside flag.

Vinicius then played in Kylian Mbappe, whose effort was saved by Ederson, and teed up Ferland Mendy for a shot blocked by Ake. Poor defending allowed Vinicius another charge at goal but Akanji recovered.

City weathered that storm and snatched the lead against the run of play.

Jack Grealish, hoping to make the most of a rare start, clipped the ball into the box and Gvardiol’s knock-down was expertly turned past Thibaut Courtois by Haaland. After a lengthy delay, VAR ruled the Norwegian was millimetres onside.

Real were stung and Vinicius curled an effort onto the top of the bar.

City were forced into a change when Grealish limped off on the half-hour but his replacement Phil Foden quickly settled and tested Courtois with a fierce drive. Akanji then grazed the bar following a corner.

Real finished the first half strongly with Federico Valverde firing just over and Mbappe twice going close.

Haaland had a shot deflected onto the woodwork after the restart but Real continued to threaten, with Mbappe forcing Ederson to save.

The equaliser came just before the hour after a free-kick was blocked and the ball lofted back towards Mbappe by Dani Ceballos. The Frenchman completely mistimed his volley but it looped into the net past a static Ederson after slicing off his shin.

Real sensed more and Bellingham was denied by Ederson before Mbappe gave City another let-off.

Again City dug in and reclaimed the lead with a Haaland penalty after Foden was felled by Ceballos.

Yet Real were not finished and substitute Diaz – the former City academy star – thumped home a rebound to level before Vinicius set up Bellingham for the last-gasp winner.

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MAN CITY PROBLEM ‘NOT ABOUT ONE PLAYER’ – PEP GUARDIOLA DEFENDS ERLING HAALAND

Pep Guardiola has stressed Manchester City’s current malaise is not down to one player as he again defended Erling Haaland.

City’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday, the Premier League champions’ ninth defeat in 12 matches in all competitions, saw Haaland fail to score for the fifth time in six outings.

After the game the Norway striker told TNT Sports: “First I’m looking at myself. I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”

City boss Guardiola subsequently stuck up for Haaland, who has netted 108 times for the club since joining in 2022, saying that “without him we will be even worse” and that “he needs to be delivered the right balls in the right spots”.

And speaking on Christmas Eve at his press conference ahead of the Boxing Day home clash with Everton, Guardiola said: “It’s about us, not just one player.

“When in the past we score goals and Erling was so prolific, helping us, it was because of the team.

“And when you have problems at the back, in the middle, it is for everyone, it is a team, it is not about one player. It would be easy, if it was just one player, the reason why. It’s not about that.

“Erling is so important for us, will be so important for us, has been. (We have to) try to do things better, to use him better.”

He added: “In this situation, this tendency for all of us (is to say) ‘the reason why is this one, and this one and this one’. It’s about us, about everyone.

“The guys are running, making effort more than ever. All the tendency ‘it’s because we don’t run, because we don’t fight, the reason why is this situation or this player or this manager’… It’s not about that.

“It’s many little details or big details that make all together not as good as we were. But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day.”

City have a sidelined list that includes key midfielder Rodri, recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in September, and Ruben Dias, who was ruled out for up to four weeks after sustaining a muscular problem in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United on December 15.

Fellow defender John Stones made his return to action in the Villa game after a foot issue, only to be substituted at half-time. City have been assessing him, along with goalkeeper Ederson and midfielder Matheus Nunes, both of whom were absent on Saturday.

What is an unprecedented slump in results in Guardiola’s managerial career has featured six losses in eight in the league.

And City, who had gone into the season targeting a fifth successive title under the 53-year-old, head into Christmas lying seventh in the table, 12 points adrift of leaders Liverpool having played a game more.

Their next five league fixtures are all against sides currently in the bottom half, with Everton sat 15th.

Guardiola emphasised the Toffees should not be regarded as the “perfect opponent”, and added: “It’s about us, to come back at our best. We will take time because we don’t have players, but we have to get results as quick as possible.”

Ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off, City’s players are set to train on Christmas Day before staying at the training ground that night, and Guardiola said: “Today they will be at home with the families, tomorrow (they will be) in the morning and in the night they will be here – hopefully they want to be here, because it’s our job and our duty.”

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THE ‘MISPEPING’ OF CITY AND JURGEN KLOPP’S FOOTPRINT IN LIVERPOOL’S PERFORMANCES.

This short piece is, in my opinion, not necessarily backed up by Opta or one football statistic authority. I’ll urge you to read with a neutral mind.

Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly one of the greatest Managers of the last two decades. But why has he lost five games in a row, making an unpopular record for himself?

Bar injuries of Rodri, Stones and Ruben Dias, Pep used to execute games with Akanji, Ake and/or Stones. In the midfield too, Gundogan has been playing alongside Rico Lewis. The latter is a young lad who has proven to be worth the hype in the last few seasons. While these two may not be the favourite midfield combination for City, they have worked very well for them in the past. So, what changed?

In my opinion, most of the City players who are pivotal to their yester victories are now older and getting close to the point of diminishing. Don’t get me wrong, they are not diminishing yet, but they are getting close to that point. Using a set of players to win multiple trophies for four years or more will come with consequences. What would make the difference is a succession plan. And this is why Klopp is in this story.

Liverpool Coach, Arne Slot.

Yes! It takes a good Manager to pick up quality players and deploy them well to win games and stay competitive. But Klopp’s succession plan for Liverpool was the beginning of the success of whoever succeeds him as Liverpool Boss.

The idea of letting Liverpool’s top midfielders go, all at the same time seemed horrendous to some Liverpool fans, but it was a necessary step at rebuilding the Liverpool team. Jordan Henderson, Fabinho Tavares, James Milner, and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain were all released at the same time, paving the way for the arrivals of Dominic Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo. It is on this new foundation that Arne Slot is now continuing the competitiveness of the Liverpool team across competitions.

Klopp did the same with the Liverpool attack. We all enjoyed the fluidity and effectiveness of the trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino but Klopp understands we cannot have that forever, hence, the introduction of Jota, Nunez, Diaz and then Gakpo. Recall that Mane and Firmino (Firmino especially) were still at Mersey side when most of these players arrived. This points to an excellent succession plan.

But is Pep not doing this too?

Since the run of defeats, many have criticised Guardiola for not replacing Alvarez, as if Erling Haaland is no longer the goal machine of the blue half of Manchester. What they forget is Jeremy Doku and the newly added Savinho and James Mc Atee. Manchester City has midfield options too. Aside from Mateo Kovacic who just recently got injured, there is Matheus Nunes and Oscar Bobb. Having all these options, most of whom were integrated into the team before this season, and losing five games in a row, gives a suspicious smell beyond the lack of Rodri and Ruben Dias.

But Liverpool should be worried too. Ryan Gravenberch has proven to be one of the key players driving the team’s success this season. Leading the English and Champions League table with the best Goal difference has a lot to do with how the midfield is anchored. Should Gravy get injured sometimes during this season, can Liverpool remain as good as they are now using alternative combinations from the mix of Endo, Mac Allister, Jones and Szobo? Food for thought.

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BRIGHTON FIGHT BACK TO STUN MAN CITY AS CHAMPIONS SUFFER FOURTH SUCCESSIVE LOSS.

Brighton staged a sensational late fightback to come from behind and send Manchester City to a fourth consecutive defeat with a pulsating 2-1 win at the Amex Stadium.

Substitute Matt O’Riley appeared in the area in the 83rd minute to tuck away Joao Pedro’s pass for his first Brighton goal to stun the Premier League champions, minutes after Pedro had himself equalised following a penalty box scramble.

Erling Haaland’s goal after 23 minutes had looked like City’s winner for much of the game, the Norway striker finishing off following a sublimely calibrated pass from Mateo Kovacic.
Yet this was a display of supreme courage on the home side, Fabian Hurzeler’s players refusing to let go lightly of a chance to leap into the top four.
They deservedly levelled when half the City team descended on Danny Welbeck as he received the ball in the box. In the panic, no one spotted Pedro, who leapt onto the scene to finish.

And it fell to Pedro to provide the ball for O’Riley, appearing for only the second time since moving from Celtic after injury wrecked his early months at Brighton, who capped a famous night on the south coast with the coolest finish amid scintillating drama.

City had already lost three in a row for the first time since April 2018 and their injury problems had not abated. Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, run ragged when only half-fit in the defeat against Bournemouth, made only the bench, so 19-year-old Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was handed his first league start in central defence.

Yet a fourth consecutive loss awaited Pep Guardiola for the first time in his managerial career, though the early signs had been that City’s blip was righted.

Kovacic, the visitors’ best player in the first half, drove upfield and slipped the ball to Savinho who was thwarted by Bart Verbruggen as he aimed for the corner.

The opening goal though was not long in arriving. Yasin Ayari gave the ball away near halfway to Kovacic and City’s midfield powerhouse cruised forward again. His ball to find Haaland was perfectly pitched, the striker’s run meticulously routed in between Igor Julio and Jan Paul van Hecke, and though Verbruggen blocked the initial shot, Haaland won the foot race with Van Hecke to crash the ball in off the crossbar from a yard out

Haaland saw his near-post drive turned against the post by Verbruggen then moments later glanced a header over from a corner, as City threatened a second.

Brighton had weathered a storm and they turned up the pressure on City before the break.
There might have been a penalty when Josko Gvardiol went to the ground and blocked Welbeck’s effort seemingly with an arm, the chance coming after Kyle Walker had misjudged the flight of the ball, but play continued.

The second half would see Brighton throw everything at the champions in search of a route back. Jack Hinshelwood headed straight at Ederson from Pervis Estupinan’s deep cross, then Kaoru Mitoma turned Walker in the corner with impudent trickery and teed up Estupinan, whose delivery was again spot on though Georginio Rutter was not so concentrated with his wayward header.

Ederson had to race from his goal to smother at the feet of Mitoma, and then Pedro drew agonised cries around the Amex when he followed up a featherlight touch to bring the ball down with an awful shot dragged wide with the goalkeeper to beat.

It looked like City would hold out, but Pedro and O’Riley had other ideas.

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MANCHESTER CITY GETS 4-1 THRASHING BY SPORTING IN RUBEN AMORIM’S HOME FAREWELL

Ruben Amorim endeared himself to Manchester United fans before even arriving at Old Trafford by engineering a stunning 4-1 defeat of Manchester City with Sporting Lisbon.

The Portuguese was taking charge of his final home match as Sporting boss before officially starting work as United’s head coach and watched as his side came from behind to thrash City in the Champions League.

City took an early lead through Phil Foden but Sporting hit back with a hat-trick that included two penalties from Viktor Gyokeres – who has been tipped to follow Amorim to United – and a strike by Maximiliano Araujo.

It was the first time City – for whom Erling Haaland missed a penalty – have lost three games in succession since 2018, excluding a later sequence in 2021 that included the Community Shield.

The evening began with Sporting in a celebratory mood as they showed their appreciation for Amorim for a four-year spell in which he delivered two domestic titles.

They were celebrating again by the end, but only after overcoming a poor start in which City could have put the result beyond doubt themselves.

City won 5-0 on their last visit to the Jose Alvalade Stadium and may have fancied a repeat as they opened the scoring within four minutes.

Hidemasa Morita was robbed by Foden and punished as the England international fired through a poor attempt at a save by Franco Israel.

It was Foden’s eighth goal in his last nine Champions League starts, and he nipped in to seize possession again soon after, but this time the attack ended when Haaland sliced wide.

Israel almost had another moment to forget when he dallied in possession, but he cleared in the nick of time from under Haaland’s feet.

Despite City’s dominance, they were vulnerable to the counter-attack.

They had a lucky escape after Rico Lewis gave the ball away and Gyokeres raced away from inside his own half only to shoot tamely at Ederson.

It was a poor miss but the former Coventry striker was in the right place to hook clear off his own line from a Haaland header.

Haaland was also denied by a fine save from Israel when he met a Foden cross with a fierce volley and Bernardo Silva shot wide.

City were made to rue their profligacy as Sporting snatched an equaliser before the break.

Again they were caught by a quick break as Geovany Quenda released Gyokeres and this time the Swede made no mistake as he outpaced teenager Jamhai Simpson-Pusey to score.

It sparked a remarkable turnaround, with Francisco Trincao shooting over just before the break and Sporting grabbing the lead within 20 seconds of the second half starting.

The hosts went straight upfield and Araujo finished emphatically after timing his run onto Pedro Goncalves’ neat through-ball to perfection.

Things immediately got worse for City as they conceded a penalty within a minute of the next restart when Josko Gvardiol bundled Trincao over in the box. Gyokeres thumped home the spot-kick.

City were offered a route back into the game when they were awarded a controversial penalty of their own by VAR after a Silva shot struck Ousmane Diomande’s arm. Haaland failed to capitalise as he smashed the ball against the crossbar.

The third penalty of the game was awarded 10 minutes from time when substitute Geny Catamo was knocked over by Matheus Nunes.

Gyokeres again finished emphatically and Amorim, who will face City again in a Manchester derby next month, could wave farewell to the home fans in good heart.

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PEP GUARDIOLA REPORTEDLY APPROACHED FOR ENGLAND JOB.

The Football Association has reportedly approached Pep Guardiola over the prospect of him becoming the next England manager.

Guardiola’s contract with Manchester City expires next summer and The Times claims the FA made informal contact with him at the start of the season – although it has yet to receive a response.

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane urged the FA to go for the City boss, saying in his role as a pundit for ITV after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Finland: “Go for the best. Pep’s contract is up in the summer.”

Guardiola himself has said “anything can happen” with his future.

“Leaving City? It’s not true, I haven’t decided yet,” he told Italian TV show Che tempo Che Fa, as reported by Sky Italia.

“And it is not even true that I will be the next England coach. If I had decided I would say it… I don’t know either, anything can happen.”

Guardiola has won six Premier League titles – including the last four in succession – and the Champions League since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.

He is by far the standout candidate, should he become available, but former Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel remains the bookmakers’ favourite.

England Under-21s manager Lee Carsley remains in interim charge for the final round of Nations League group matches next month, having overseen three wins and a defeat so far after stepping into the role following Gareth Southgate’s resignation after Euro 2024.

The Football Association has consistently refused to discuss the managerial recruitment policy, while Manchester City do not comment on speculation.

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MANCHESTER CITY FULL-BACK JOAO CANCELO MAKES PERMANENT MOVE TO AL HILAL

Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has joined Al Hilal on a permanent deal.

Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (C) speaks to Manchester City’s Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on August 13, 2022. -. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

It is understood Cancelo moves to the Saudi Pro League in a deal worth 25million euros (£21.1m), ending the Portugal international’s five-year stay with City after arriving at the club in a £60m move from Juventus.

“I would like to wish everyone at City continued success in the future,” Cancelo, 30, was quoted as saying on the Premier League club’s website.

“I had many very special moments during my time here at this great club.

“I would like to thank my team-mates, the coaches, all the staff at City and the fans for everything during my time here.”

Cancelo made 154 appearances for City and was part of three Premier League title-winning sides at the Etihad Stadium.

He went out on loan to Bayern Munich in January 2023 and spent last season at Barcelona.

Cancelo represented Portugal at this summer’s European Championship in Germany.

But he did not feature in City’s first two Premier League games this season, against Chelsea and Ipswich.

City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “I would like to thank Joao for his contribution during a remarkable period at City.

“He made a big impact in title-winning campaigns and was a huge influence on the pitch.”

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City must win all remaining games or title race is over

Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City missed the chance to claim victory when on top against Liverpool and insisted his side must win all their remaining Premier League games otherwise the title race will be over.

Liverpool were as far as 14 points behind in mid-January, but a 10-game winning run in the league slashed City’s lead to just one point to set up what was billed as the title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne struck after just five minutes with his sixth goal in as many games on Sunday, before Diogo Jota soon restored parity in a thrilling end-to-end affair.

Gabriel Jesus then found the net against Liverpool for a fifth time in all competitions, only scoring more for City against Everton (eight), to send Jurgen Klopp’s side in at half-time trailing in the league for the first time this season.

Sadio Mane immediately levelled after the interval to keep the title race alive and Guardiola called on City to win their remaining seven games to win the league.

“Both teams wanted to try to win, we did everything we could but unfortunately we could not win,” he told Sky Sports.

“I had the feeling we handed them a life, but listen Liverpool is a joy to watch and the threats they have in attack, how good they are, so no doubts about how difficult they are.

“But I think we performed really, really well, I’m so incredibly proud of my team. Now, both teams know with seven games left we have to win all of them, otherwise it will be over.

“In Anfield, we played an incredible first half and it was the same result, I had the feeling we missed an opportunity to get three points but it doesn’t matter what happened this game, this was never going to be over.

“I would say the same with defeat, or victory, this was massive game to take advantage of, but we know what we have to do.

“Go to [Atletico] Madrid [in the Champions League quarter-final return leg], then FA Cup [semi-final against Liverpool] then back to the Premier League and win as many as possible.

“Seven games in the Premier League is a lot to play, it will be tough, I don’t know whether we are going to win the title at the end of the season but to be in the game, like we played today, it makes me admire a lot to perform that way.”

Guardiola also hailed the work of Jesus, who has scored four times against Klopp’s Liverpool in the Premier League, as he explained his match-by-match plan for each specific opponent.

“Gabriel Jesus deserves to play a lot, he is a fantastic person but all of them, [Ilkay] Gundogan, Ruben [Dias] they all have quality but we thought we could find spaces with the players we put out for the way they pressed today,” he added.

“Maybe next Saturday [in the FA Cup semi-final] from what we saw, maybe we change something. I put out a specially specific line-up for the demands of the team we are going to play, not because of who I prefer.”

Klopp and Guardiola are familiar foes, given their time spent managing Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Germany, and the Spaniard expressed his admiration for his opposite number.

“Listen, I don’t know if Jurgen respects me but I respect him a lot, he has made me a better manager with his sides in Germany with Bayern and Dortmund, and then here,” he added.

“His teams are always positive and want to attack, I try to imitate him in that sense. We are not friends, we don’t have dinner together, I don’t call him but I have a lot of respect for him, but he knows next Saturday I’m going to try and beat him.”

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GUARDIOLA PLAYS DOWN MANCHESTER CITY’S TREBLE CHANCES

Pep Guardiola wants his side to return injury-free from the international break but played down talk of Manchester City’s chances of winning the treble.

Phil Foden scored a stunning strike as City booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne (penalty) and Riyad Mahrez were also on target for the visitors, with Aymeric Laporte’s own goal levelling the scores just before half-time.

Guardiola believes winning the treble would not be an easy feat, and remains focused on the more short-term goals of his side.

“How many times has it happened in this country? Once in this lifetime, once. It’s not easy, I would love to tell you it’s not easy,” the Manchester City manager said.

“It’s better to hopefully pray that the players come back from the national teams fit because it’s tough to fight, fight, fight for many things.

“Now the players have 15 days off and they arrive (back) two days before they have to play Burnley, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, then Atletico Madrid.

“When you have 10 points clear to the second (placed team in the Premier League) with three games to play and are in the finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup, after (that) we can talk about that (the treble).

“But in the position that we are (in) it’s far, far away (from the treble), the best intention is to be focused on Burnley.”

Guardiola admitted that everyone needs a break, with City not due to play again until April 2 against Burnley after they secured an enticing FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley.

“We are there so I think everyone needs a little break, to not see each other for a while would be good, to see new faces for the manager, some players will go on holiday for one week,” Guardiola said.

“And after we come back we know what we have, we have the quarter-finals of the Champions League, we have the Premier League, we have the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

“The nice thing for the team is that fact, the last few weeks of the season and we are fighting for it, we are there for the titles and this is so nice.

“I would have signed (up for that) at the start of the season – to be here in front of you, in the later stages, in this position. We’ll see what happens.”

Ralph Hasenhuttl also is welcoming the international break, as his side head into it on the back of four successive defeats in all competitions.

“The international break always comes at a good time. It is an intense time. It is good to have,” the Southampton manager said.

“(We will) recover. Recharge the batteries. We have nine games to go.

“(We) have work to do to finish as high as possible. We need this break now to get a bit of rest and we come back with full batteries ready to go.”

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FIVE-GOAL MANCITY CRUSH SPORTING LISBON IN UCL LAST 16

Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City still have room for improvement after Bernardo Silva’s brace inspired a masterful 5-0 rout of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last 16 first leg on Tuesday.

Guardiola’s side produced a swaggering display at the Jose Alvalade Stadium to all but secure their quarter-final place before the second leg in Manchester on March 9.

Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring and Silva bagged the second before Phil Foden made it three by the 32nd minute.

With City at their imperious best, Portugal forward Silva struck again on his return to his homeland and Raheem Sterling’s gem rounded off the demolition after the interval.

City are unbeaten in their last 13 games in all competition, a hot streak that now includes 12 wins.

Sterner tests will await City later in the competition but this was a significant statement of intent that will have been heard all around Europe.

Determined to keep his players grounded, Guardiola said: “The difference between the two teams is not 5-0 but we were so clinical. We punished them.

“We had some simple passes that we lost. Against the top sides in Europe we would be punished.

“We have one more game to be in the quarter-finals and this is what you want. The players know me and the way we work that we can do better.

“I’m incredibly happy, please don’t misunderstand me, but we can do better.”

With City nine points clear at the top of the Premier League in their pursuit of a fourth title in five years, there is no questioning Guardiola’s domestic preeminence.

But Champions League success has been harder to come by.

Guardiola insisted this week that critics of his flawed European record over the last decade are “jealous” of his achievements.

Yet the Spaniard hasn’t won the Champions League since 2011 with Barcelona, while City are still waiting to lift the trophy for the first time.

City’s Champions League history is littered with unexpectedly premature exits, but they came painfully close last season, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in the final in Porto.

Back on Portuguese soil to launch a knockout stage campaign they hope will climax with silverware in the final in Saint Peterburg, City’s sublime performance underlined their desire to go one better this time.

Sporting’s fans did their best to make it a hostile evening, loudly jeering Silva, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo for their spells with arch rivals Benfica.

But City took just seven minutes to silence the ear-splitting din with a sumptuous move.

Silva found Foden in the Sporting area and his shot was pushed out by Antonio Adan to Kevin De Bruyne, who scooped it back into the six-yard box for Mahrez to slot into the empty net.

Initially disallowed for offside, it took a lengthy VAR check before Mahrez could celebrate his 10th goal in his last 11 Champions League appearance.

City were in the groove and Silva produced a moment of magic in the 17th minute.

When Rodri’s header dropped in the Sporting area, the hosts were too slow to react and Silva pounced with a blistering half-volley that flashed in off the underside of the crossbar.

Guardiola’s team were so slick that even Sporting’s supporters were moved to applaud after the visitors’ third goal.

Mahrez twisted and turned on the right flank before whipping in a low cross that evaded Sporting’s flailing defence, allowing Foden to finish with ease on his 150th City appearance.

City weren’t done yet and the fourth goal arrived in the 44th minute.

Cancelo’s lofted pass picked out Sterling’s run into the Sporting area and his cutback was dispatched by Silva via a deflection.

Silva was denied a hat-trick five minutes into the second half when his header was ruled out for offside.

But Sterling put the seal on City’s masterclass in the 58th minute, taking aim from 20 yards and curling a superb strike into the far corner.