 |
| Raheem Sterling of Man City and Eduard Sobol of Club Brugge during the UEFA Champions League group A match between Manchester City and Club Brugge KV at Etihad Stadium on November 3, 2021 in Manchester, United Kingdom. |
Raheem Sterling ended his 12-game goal drought to wrap up an easy Champions League win for Manchester City over Club Bruges at Etihad Stadium.
Sterling converted Ilkay Gundogan's cutback to score for only the second time this season and claim his first Champions League goal in more than a year.
With Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez finishing off Joao Cancelo crosses from close range either side of the interval and Gabriel Jesus rolling a shot into the far corner with the final kick of the game, Pep Guardiola's men were finding winning form after successive defeats by West Ham and Crystal Palace.
 |
| Manchester City's English midfielder Raheem Sterling is mobbed by teammates after scoring the team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A football match between Manchester City and Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 3, 2020. |
The only blot on a routine victory was a freak own goal by John Stones two minutes after City had taken the lead, Bernardo Silva slicing a clearance into the defender's face and then the net.
City replace Paris St-Germain at the top of Group A after the French side drew 2-2 at RB Leipzig, and require a single point from their remaining two group games to seal a spot in the last 16 for the ninth successive season.
Guardiola was sufficiently confident of victory that he made all five substitutes long before the end, which included giving a home European debut to 19-year-old forward Cole Palmer, who brought an excellent late save out of former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet.
By the final whistle the City supporters' minds were already turning to their Saturday lunchtime trip to Manchester United, where they have lost only twice in eight visits during Guardiola's time in charge.
