Superb Manchester City see off Sevilla to reach knockout stages

Manchester City turned in their best ever Champions League performance to beat Sevilla 3-1 and qualify for the last 16 of the competition with two games to spare.

Manuel Pellegrini sprang a surprise with his selection, leaving Kevin de Bruyne on the bench to pack the midfield with both Fernando and Fernandinho behind Yaya Toure. But it was a tactic that worked wonders for City, with Fernandinho particularly influential in a breath-taking first-half display.

Raheem Sterling opened the scoring after just eight minutes when he finished emphatically after a terrific through-ball from Fernandinho, and the roles were reversed just minutes later as City went two goals up. Sterling did superbly to win the ball and feed Wilfried Bony inside the box, whose shot was parried upwards by the goalkeeper to present Fernandinho with an open goal to head into.

Sevilla pulled one back when Benoit Tremoulinas nodded in at the back stick in the hosts’ brightest moment of an otherwise one-sided opening half-an-hour, but City re-established their two goal advantage on 36 minutes when former Sevilla winger Jesus Navas picked out Bony, who in turn picked out the bottom corner.

The second half saw the home side come out much-improved, forcing City to sit deep and defend in numbers, but such was the solid nature of the performance that Joe Hart barely had a save to make and it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score whenever they got the chance to counter-attack.

The victory means that City have become the first team ever to win at Sevilla in the Champions League and also guarantees their place in the knockout stages at the earliest possible opportunity. Quite an achievement.

8’ GOAL! – Raheem Sterling scores his first Champions League goal to put City ahead. A slide-rule pass from Fernandino puts him through one-on-one with the keeper, but the angle is tight and Sterling does superbly to pick out the far corner. 1-0 City!

11’ GOAL! – Fernandinho makes it 2-0 to City! Sterling's harrying wins the ball in a dangerous area and he tees up Bony for a shot, which the keeper can only parry for Fernandinho to head home. 2-0 City!

13’ POST – It's almost 3-0 to City as Navas shifts the ball on to his right and crashes a shot against the upright, via the fingertips of the keeper.

24’ GOAL! – Tremoulinas scores for Sevilla, heading in from close-range after brilliant skill from Koke to dink a cross to the back post. 2-1!

28’ CHANCE – Hart makes a save down at his near post and Sevilla fail to turn in the rebound. That was a terrific save from the stopper, but the Spanish side should still have scored.

36’ GOAL! – Wilfried Bony makes it 3-1 to City. Navas coolly picks out the striker with a threaded pass into the box from out on the right and Bony makes no mistake with a side-footed finish into the bottom corner.

53’ CHANCE – Fernandinho draws another fine shot out of the goalkeeper with a stinging drive. The Brazilian has been superb this evening.

Was this City’s arrival as a Champions League contender? It took a brace of injury-time goals to secure the two slightly fortuitous wins that put Manchester City in a position to qualify from the group this evening. But this display has surely banished any remaining doubts that Pellegrini’s side belong at this level. Sevilla are no pushovers. They’ve never lost in the Champions League at home, have beaten Barcelona on their own patch already this season, and have lifted successive Europa League titles in recent years. So this was no easy task for City. But their performance made them look like one of the best teams in the world – something they should have been for some time given the squad and spending power they have at their disposal. Play like this in the knockout stages and City could go all the way… and lack of belief will no longer be an excuse.

Manchester City: Hart 8; Sagna 7, Otamendi 8, Kompany 8, Kolarov 7; Fernando 9, Fernandinho 9; Navas 8, Toure 8, Sterling 8; Bony 7. Subs: De Bruyne 6, Delph 6, Demichelis 6.

Sevilla: Sergio Rico 7; Coke 5, Rami 6, Kolodziejczak 6, Trémoulinas 7; Krychowiak 6, Iborra 6; Vitolo 6, Banega 6, Konoplyanka 5; Llorente 5. Subs: Krohn-Dehli 6, Mariano 6, Immobile 6.

Fernandinho (Manchester City) – The Brazilian was absolutely outstanding, right from the first minute when he stung the palms of the keeper with a shot from distance. His energy, control and intent to get forward gave the visitors a presence in the centre of the park that Sevilla just couldn’t live with, and he provided plenty of quality to go on top of his industry. The assist for Sterling’s opener was superb, while it was his desire to make a run into the box that gave him the opportunity to put the English club 2-0 up. With Fernando shielding the defence expertly and Yaya Toure given more freedom to float around the pitch than he’s used to, Fernandinho was the glue that stuck it all together for City in midfield, and his individual display was the stand-out effort on a night when every single player in sky blue (or luminous yellow in this case) did himself proud.