Manchester City 5-0 Sparta Praha: Player ratings as Haaland double guides Sky Blues to a big win at Etihad

Manchester City crushed Sparta Praha 5-0 at the Etihad on Wednesday in the Champions League. Phil Foden had their noses in front after only three minutes into the kick-off, before Erling Haaland fired a second half brace on either side of a goal from John Stones before Matheus Nunes added a fifth from the penalty spot with only two minutes of normal time remaining. With seven points in three games, the Sky Blues are in third position on the Champions League standings, behind only Premier League rivals, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Here are the player ratings:

Manchester City Player Ratings vs Sparta Praha

Goalkeeper

Stefan Ortega – 7

An easy outing in goal for the Manchester City custodian, who was rarely challenged and finished the game with a clean sheet too.

Defenders

Rico Lewis – 7.5

Laid four key passes on the night, a reflection of his creative brilliance, while completing over 90% of his passes.

John Stones – 8

Excellent distribution of the ball, held the fort well and made it two goals in two games by making it 3-0 for the Sky Blues.

Manuel Akanji – 7

The Swiss international slid the ball for Foden to fire their opening goal.

Nathan Ake – 7

Got forward superbly without ever renouncing his defensive responsibilities.

Midfielders

Ilkay Gundogan – 7

The German circulated the ball superbly to help maintain tempo.

Forwards

Savinho – 8

A force of nature down the left with his speed and dynamism, he also set up Haaland for his first of the evening.

Phil Foden – 8

Back in the Manchester City XI after his heroics off the bench at the weekend, Foden fired City in front after only three minutes into the kick-off.

Bernardo Silva – 7.5

Fed his cohorts with a series of crosses and completed over 90% of his passes.

Matheus Nunes – 9

A creative inspiration on the night with his vision, movement and creativity, Nunes bagged two assists on the night too before capping off a fine performance with a late penalty.

Erling Haaland – 9

Following a disappointing outing at the weekend, Haaland roared back into form with a clinical brace here.

Substitutes

James McAtee – 5

A complete non-factor for much of the evening.

Mateo Kovacic – 7

The Croatian controlled the tempo superbly and passed the ball around with great accuracy.

Josko Gvardiol – 7

Distributed the ball with fine precision.

Ruben Dias – 7

Made sure there are no last-minute concession of goals and that City get the clean sheet.

Nico O’Reilly – N/A

Came on for the last few minutes of the match.

Manager

Pep Guardiola – 8

A routine victory for Guardiola and co., as City turned on the style at the Etihad to bolster their progression hopes.

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Sparta Praha Player Ratings vs Manchester City

Goalkeeper

Peter Jensen – 5

Made five saves in the game but also conceded five as City ripped his defense apart.

Defenders

Martin Vitik – 7

With four clearances and three blocked shots, Vitik was an instrumental figure in defense, if only he had the support of everyone else too.

Filip Panak – 6.5

Tried his best but ultimately failed to compete with City’s quality forwards.

Asger Sorensen – 6

Made a staggering five clearances but was also dragged around the defense as the Sky Blues twisted him inside out.

Midfielders

Angelo Preciado – 6

Made five crosses and one key pass but looked sloppy in possession more often than not.

Kaan Kairinen – 4

Minimal involvement from him and should have been taken off much sooner.

Qazim Laci – 6.5

Made six tackles, three clearances and one block in a monumental effort.

Matej Rynes – 6.5

Tracked back several time to clear out any impending danger and never hesitated to jump into a tackle.

Forwards

Veljko Birmancevic – 5.5

Made a few efforts at goal but wasn’t clinical enough.

Victor Olatunji – 4

The striker was invisible for most of the time.

Lukas Haraslin – 6.5

Proved to be a creative inspiration for his side with three key passes.

Substitutes

Ermal Krasniqi – 5

Completely lacked the pace on the night.

Albion Rrahmani – 5.5

Regained the ball a few times but was largely on the fringes.

Krystof Danek – 4

Rarely got a sniff of the ball.

Tomas Wiesner – N/A

Came late on but didn’t have much to make any serious impact.

Markus Solbakken – N/A

Came alongside Wiesner with just two minutes of normal time remaining.

Manager

Lars Friis – 6

His side came into the game like a lamb in a slaughterhouse and despite their best efforts, were soundly beaten at the Etihad.

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