Manchester City became the first English team to beat Shakhtar Donetsk at home following a 3-0 win on Tuesday night.
Donetsk had never lost a home match against an English side in European competition, having registered five wins and two draws, however, goals from David Silva, Aymeric Laporte, and Bernardo Silva saw City bag all the three points. It was a sweet revenge for the Citizens as their recent meeting, which was last season, saw City beaten 2-1.
Manchester City started brightly, keeping lots of early possession and they eventually broke down the left side through Benjamin Mendy. He fizzed a cross into the feet of Silva, who controlled and then hooked a looping shot over the bar. The hosts had a quick response, a poor touch from Otamendi gave Moraes a chance to run forward. He slipped the ball between De Bruyne’s legs but could not get further towards the box.
In the 10th minute, the visitors produced a clever corner. De Bruyne played it short to Sterling, who got the ball back then put in a low cross which Pyatov dived to save the near post
City went close to taking the lead in the 28th minute. Mahrez curled in a cross from the right which Silva turned goalwards on the volley. The ball hit the post and then came back out to Jesus, who thrashed a shot off target.
Two minutes later, City broke the deadlock. They were the dominant force, pressing so hard and finally took the lead. Mendy played into Jesus and his shot deflected up into the air falling for Silva, who drilled a low volley past the goalkeeper from around 12 yards out.
City extended their lead five minutes later through Laporte. Mendy hit a powerful shot which Pyatov pushed behind. The corner was curled into the middle of the box where Laporte stooped and cushioned into the top corner to double the lead for Pep Guardiola’s men.
In the second half, City continued with their dominance and after three minutes they came close to snatching the third. Jesus broke into the box and pulled across for Silva. He hit a shot which was blocked by a sliding defender.
A few minutes later Ederson was called into action for the first time as Ismaily got into the area and hit a left-footed effort across the goal. The City shot-stopper did well as he dived and got a good contact to push the ball away from the danger area.
Bernardo Silva netted the third goal for Man City, less than 90 minutes after coming off the bench. He drove towards the box and as defenders back off, he curled a pin-point shot which hit the base of the post and deflected into the net.
The win sends Pep Guardiola’s men on top of Group F with 6 points while Lyon is second with 4 points after 3 games.
