Well that’s pretty much that. Unless Basle
have something extraordinary up their sleeves, they might as well not
bother turning up for the second leg at the Etihad in three weeks’ time.
The
last 16 of the Champions League is meant to be when the serious
business gets underway, but those who witnessed yet another Manchester
City masterclass at St-Jakob Park on Tuesday night wouldn’t have known
it.
The Premier League leaders became
the first English side to score three goals in the first half of a
Champions League tie, and they managed it inside 24 minutes.
Never mind a second leg, City didn’t even need a second half to effectively clinch their place in the quarter-finals.
Maybe we were expecting too much from a Basle team that had beaten Manchester United in a group game here in November.
They
are, after all, the weakest club left in the last 16 and one that is
not even top of the Swiss League after the winter break.
But
credit to City. They were dominant on a freezing night in Switzerland
when for once you could understand footballers wearing gloves, showing
again why they should be considered among the favourites for the
Champions League this season.
They will
have to produce a monumental effort to win all four trophies in their
sights, but this was a very straightforward step on the path to
greatness.
‘It’s an amazing result,’
said Guardiola. ‘I’m not saying it’s done because anything can happen in
football and we have respect for Basle.
‘We are almost in the quarter-finals but we will take the next game seriously.’
The
City boss acknowledged that this result will allow him to play a
full-strength team in the key Premier League games against Arsenal and
Chelsea, and then rest players for the second leg.
His
squad is looking ominously strong again after Fabian Delph, Leroy Sane
and David Silva returned from injury here, and Vincent Kompany got
another 90 minutes under his belt in what was his first appearance in
the Champions League for almost two years.
‘We’ll have almost the whole squad for that period when we will need everyone involved,’ said Guardiola.
http://confirmgists.blogspot.com.ng/2018/02/because-they-called-him-proud-he-want.html
‘We
are still in February and in the Premier League we are in an amazing
position with 16 points in front. We are almost in the quarter-finals of
Champions League, in one final (Carabao Cup), and have an opportunity
to get to the quarter-final of the FA Cup. All we can do is take it
seriously.’
Had Basle been as clinical
as their opponents it may have been a different story, not least when
Dimitri Oberlin failed to get enough on his attempt past Ederson when
one-on-one with the City goalkeeper in the early stages.
Where Oberlin’s finishing lacked conviction, City were utterly ruthless as they struck three times in the space of 10 minutes.
Goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik did not cover
himself in glory despite starting the game with a fine fingertip save to
deny Ilkay Gundogan with less than two minutes on the clock.
When
the German was presented with another opportunity from Kevin De
Bruyne’s corner to the near post, he stole a yard on Fabian Frei to
glance a header past Vaclik.
City’s
second goal wasn’t long in coming. De Bruyne set Raheem Sterling away
down the left and his cross took a slight nick off a Basle defender on
its way through to Bernardo Silva on the far side.
The
Portugal international controlled it on his chest and despatched a
dipping volley that Vaclik tried to turn over the bar with one hand but
merely helped the ball on its way into the net.
Sergio
Aguero then struck into the 23rd minute to all but end this tie as a
contest. It began with a surging run by Fernandinho who was stopped in
his tracks by Leo Lacroix 20 yards from goal.
Nobody
had bothered to pick up Aguero, of all people, and the man who scored
four goals against Leicester had another in his sights. He guided the
ball effortlessly inside the post.
The Argentine had a hand in Gundogan’s
second goal of the night in the 54th minute, as he scrambled the ball to
his teammate on the edge of the box.
Gundogan looked up and almost nonchalantly curled a shot into the far corner.
‘He’s
an extraordinary player,’ said Guardiola. ‘When I see him play, I
realise how we missed him last season. He doesn’t feel pressure.’
Only a fine save from Vaclik denied Gundogan his hat-trick, although by then the damage was done.
Given
his injury problems, the former Borussia Dortmund player was
understandably infuriated by a foul from Geoffroy Serey Die that sparked
a late melee and brought yellow cards for both players.
It was a rare show of resistance from Basle whose visit to Manchester next month is now little more than a formality.
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| Kelvin De Bruyne clebrating Aguero goal with him |
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