UEFA Champions League: Manchester City ease past Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0

Manchester City romped to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in a Group H encounter in the Champions League on Wednesday at the Oblasny SportKomplex Metalist stadium.

It was a match that was completely dominated by Pep Guardiola’s side who now sit at the top of the group.

First-half goals from David Silva (30′)  and Aymeric Laporte (35′) coupled with a goal from Bernardo Silva in the 75th minute of the match helped the Premier League champions notch up what Guardiola summed as an ‘outstanding performance’ since he took over the club.

Shakhtar Donetsk meanwhile suffered their first-ever defeat to an English club at home.

Spaniard David Silva, announced his international retirement after the World Cup gave the visitors the lead in the 30th minute with a volley after his shot hit the post and rebounded back.

A corner by star midfield Kevin De Bruyne, who was making a comeback to the starting XI after a layoff due to injury, was pounced upon by Laporte, who headed it into the net to become the only second Frenchman after Samir Nasri to score for Manchester City in the Champions League.

Coming in as a substitute, as a replacement for De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva scored City’s third and final one on the night as his shot took a deflection off the post and crashed into the net to help the English club build on their lead and pile more misery on their Ukrainian counterparts.

“Our first half was the best we have played in the last three seasons since I’ve been here,” Guardiola said, as quoted by BBC.

“We were outstanding, we created a lot of chances.”

Their 2-1 loss to Lyon earlier in the tournament was a distant past as the Manchester-based club looks solid for the title challenge this season.

Image credit- Mirror