Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester City 2-0 Galatasaray (UEFA Champions League) | OneFootball

Erling Haaland ended his five-game goal drought to help Manchester City qualify for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League after beating Galatasaray in the final game of the league phase. 

The Norway international had only scored once in his previous nine games in all competitions before a ball was kicked but got Pep Guardiola’s side off to the perfect start after 11 minutes when he beat Ugurcan Cakir from close range.

It was a game where City needed to win if they wanted to earn entry straight into the last 16 and Rayan Cherki helped bolster his side’s chances of victory with a second inside 29 minutes inside a booming and somewhat dissonant Etihad Stadium.

In the ground, flares were set off and the travelling Galatasaray supporters were fervent in the away end, yet the smoke from the pyrotechnics had barely settled when the first chance of the game came to Haaland. 

A beautifully weighted cross from Rayan Ait-Nouri swung into the path of the City striker, who was unmarked and dispatched a diving header that drifted narrowly wide of the left-hand post after only three minutes. 

Inevitably, that helped silence the away supporters early and provide a sense of belief amongst Guardiola’s side, whose opponents came into this final league-phase clash as underdogs yet unbeaten in their last four meetings with English opposition.

The Galatasaray defence showed both strengths and limitations in the early stages but Jeremy Doku, before going off injured after 36 minutes, produced a stunning display to thrust City into a 2-0 lead inside 29 minutes.

After just 11 minutes, the winger delivered a sharp pass between Davinson Sanchez and Abdulkerim Bardakci from the halfway line to invite Haaland into a one-on-one situation, where he lifted the ball over Cakir to score his 56th UEFA Champions League goal. 

Then, Doku made a threatening run in-behind to reach a through ball by Ait-Nouri down the left before taking on Sanchez and beating him with ease. What followed was a short but effective ball into Cherki who was unmarked from 12 yards and converted into the bottom corner. 

Captained by City legend Ilkay Gundogan — who played a significant role in City’s first and only ever UEFA Champions League triumph — Galatasaray had little to brag about at the interval except a tight-angled shot from Victor Osimhen which was collected effortlessly by Gianluigi Donnarumma. 

Further efforts came from the former SSC Napoli striker but it was City who were more conspicuous in attack; Marmoush had a free shot from 11 yards but was denied by Cakir before Phil Foden and Ait-Nouri were both denied a matter of minutes later. 

Guardiola called for reinforcements in the midfield and just two minutes after Tijjani Reijnders came on, the Netherlands international clashed heads with Sanchez nastily, understandably causing a big delay in the resumption of play. 

Still, the midfielder continued and could have made it three in the dying moments when he found a loose ball but Cakir beat him to it. Regardless, City managed to finish in eighth and qualify by a single point ahead of Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Here’s how we rated the Manchester City players from their victory against Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium. 

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7

Was tested three times by Osimhen; first from a shot at the near post before catching a weak header in the second period. Later in the game, he stopped a powerful, first-timed effort too to maintain the clean sheet. 

Matheus Nunes – 6.5

Cleared a threatening free-kick in the opening stages and worked well down through right. Every week, it seems he is only becoming a better player and after missing back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt, it was good to see a strong performance on his European return. 

Abdoukodir Khusanov – 6.5

Seems to be gaining confidence the more he’s involved for City. He was pinging long balls all over the pitch on Wednesday whereas, in earlier weeks, he would have been hesitant, which is great to see. 

Nathan Ake – 5.5

Lost the ball on a few occasions in tight areas and should have done better in certain scenarios. But on the other hand, he also intervened at important times and held the high line well.

Rayan Ait-Nouri – 6.5

Played the perfect ball for Haaland early on and was involved across various stages. Nearly scored one himself after 66 minutes and had a great pass at an earlier stage discredited by a poor attempt at a finish from Foden. 

Bernardo Silva – 5

Ran wild in midfield and seemed to be everywhere throughout but committed a few aimless passes in the centre which were agonisingly avoidable and gave Galatasaray possession. 

Nico O’Reilly – 6

Although he’s played plenty of games in midfield at youth level, it’s undeniable that the academy graduate is best at left-back. Still, he moved the ball well and with little trouble here. 

Rayan Cherki – 7

It was another great performance from Cherki and the goal only highlighted his impact in attack. He, like others, only seems to get better by the week. How did City sign him for £34 million?!

Omar Marmoush – 5.5

After his goal against Wolves on Saturday, it was refreshing to see Marmoush deservedly start here but he was undoubtedly City’s weakest link in attack. Could have scored around the hour when he was played through by Haaland but failed to do so. 

Jeremy Doku – 8 

As always, the Belgian was a thorn in the side of his counterparts here and enhanced a good performance in the earlier stages with an excellent assist. It was a shame to see him go off injured granted he could have done much more for City had he played until the final whistle. 

Erling Haaland – 7.5

Could have opened the scoring earlier with an ambitious header but finally ended his five-game goal drought with a calm finish over Cakir. He dropped back at the right times and played the best he has done for a number of weeks. This could be the starting point for better performances… 

Substitutes

Phil Foden – 6

Foden’s introduction injected energy into the City attack and he nearly got one shortly after coming on. A good substitute at a good time for Guardiola’s side.

Nico Gonzalez – 5

Didn’t have much to go off given he came on with eight minutes left but equally held the midfield well and, of course, a good way to get some minutes in after recent setbacks. 

Tijjani Reijnders – 6

Showed courage to smile and continue after being knocked over by Sanchez in an unpleasant head clash. Seemed the right substitute across the final 20 minutes.