Phil Foden scored and got an assist as Manchester City claimed a comfortable first Champions League win of the season at Slovan Bratislava.
The England midfielder has struggled to find the form that saw him named PFA Player of the Season last year, but he made the most of only his second start this term.
After Ilkay Gundogan had scored his first goal since his return to City with a deflected strike in the eighth minute, Foden opened his own account for the campaign with a composed finish into the bottom corner seven minutes later.
City then hit the woodwork three times – through Foden, Gundogan and Jeremy Doku – as they continued to dominate, before Erling Haaland grabbed his 11th of the season just before the hour mark, taking the ball past goalkeeper Dominik Takac to slot home.
Foden then cleverly flicked the ball through for substitute James McAtee to get his first City goal in the 74th minute.
Only heroics from Slovan stopper Takac denied City further goals, but the victory was their first in the revamped Champions League format after drawing at home to Inter Milan in their opening fixture.
Midfield pair provide positives in routine win
Slovan Bratislava had come through eight games in qualifying before reaching the Champions League proper for the first time in their history, and they were determined to enjoy having the reigning Premier League champions in town.
A big light show preceded kick-off, with fans dancing and singing in the stands throughout, and they could have been celebrating a dream start when Marko Tolic drove a shot just wide of the far post.
But that was as good as it got for the hosts as they spent the rest of the game trying in vain to stop City’s attacking onslaught.
For the visitors this was as comfortable as they could have hoped, with boss Pep Guardiola mixing things up by making six changes.
And the big positives were the goals and performances from Gundogan and Foden.
Midfielder Gundogan, who turns 34 later this month, could play a bigger part this term than perhaps expected after Rodri’s season-ending injury, and captained the side for the first time since their victorious 2023 Champions League final that sealed a Treble.
After returning to the club following a season at Barcelona, he got the ball rolling with a deflected strike – his first for City since the 2023 FA Cup final win over Manchester United – and could have had more as he also hit the woodwork and denied by a fine save from Takac.
Foden, meanwhile, will hope his goal and assist will kick-start his season.
With injury and illness keeping him on the sidelines, the England midfielder had struggled to get going so far this term and had started four of his previous five games on the bench.
But Guardiola had backed him to come good and, while this was not the biggest test he will face, there were signs of the Foden of last season, when he scored 27 goals in all competitions.
Source: BBC
