Champions League: Manchester City v Olympiakos match report

Champions League: Manchester City v Olympiakos match report

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 03: Joao Cancelo of Manchester City celebrates with Lukas Nmecha after scoring his sides third goal during the UEFA Champions League Group C stage match between Manchester City and Olympiacos FC at Etihad Stadium on November 03, 2020 in Manchester, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Ferran Torres has scored for the third consecutive time in the Champions League

Manchester City hosted Olympiakos at the Etihad Stadium as they seeked to continue their perfect start to the UCL campaign. They’ve scored three goals each in matches against Porto, Marseille and Olympiakos. Manchester City sit at first place in their group with 9 points from a possible 9. Gabriel Jesus marked his return from injury with a goal today.

Match report

Ferran Torres opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Kevin De Bruyne cushioned a pass for him. The former has scored in three consecutive matches as Manchester City rely on the natural winger as their striker. Injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero meant that City didn’t have a natural striker. Torres has settled into that role and has done his job perfectly. It’s a surprise that he isn’t talked about in the same vein as Liverpool’s Diogo Jota.

Olympiakos defended well to restrict City’s lead to just the one goal in the first half. They were starting to look threatening at the start of the second half, but City wasn’t to be fazed. Gabriel Jesus replaced Riyad Mahrez and scored on his return. He had been laid off for six weeks following an injury obtained against Wolves. De Bruyne was the one who made the assist again.

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Pep Guardiola had an eye on the weekend match against Liverpool and rested some key Manchester City players. Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker were all subbed off to rest. It is a doubt whether Gabriel Jesus will be allowed to play against high flying Liverpool though.

Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker were replaced by Felix Nmecha and Joao Cancelo respectively. The substitutes combined to score the third goal for Manchester City. That goal settled the match for City and they topped the group as a result. City are favorites to qualify from this group at first place as they seek to go further than before in the Champions League.

Also read: RB Salzburg v Bayern Munich match report