City off to UEFA Youth League flyer with fine win in Seville

In our opening Group G match, a hat-trick from Carlos Borges and a goal apiece for Adedire Mebude and Will Dickson saw us come from behind after Diego Hormigo’s close-range strike early on. 

It means Brian Barry-Murphy’s side start our European campaign with maximum points ahead of next week’s visit of Borussia Dortmund.

Story of the match

In a tight opening period, it was City who created the first clear chance when Borges tapped wide after fine work from Mebude.

It was an excellent chance, but it was Sevilla who drew first blood moments later.

A mix up in the City defence led to a corner for the home side - and the delivery from the impressive Carlos Alvarez caused all sorts of problems for our backline.

Defender Diego Hormigo reacted quickest and was there to finish emphatically from close range.

This would be a test of our character, with the home side growing in confidence, buoyed by the noise from their home support.

But City soon began to reassert dominance. Our passing game saw us control possession, with the Sevilla players spending long periods chasing the ball in hot conditions. Borges deservedly equalised, finishing off a fine team move that ended with a beautiful Nico O’Reilly pass.  

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The second half saw City continue to dominate and Mebude struck to give us the lead moments after the restart, leaving three defenders trailing in his wake before firing home expertly.

It was a moment of genuine class and composure from Mebude that underlined our attacking quality. 

And Will Dickson, who had worked tirelessly throughout, made it 3-1 with 15 minutes remaining, finishing first time after Borges’ ball in behind. 

A red card for Sevilla substitute Salguero for retaliation after a coming together Mebude saw the home side reduced to 10 men for the final period, a moment that ended the game as a contest. 

City controlled proceedings thereafter and added a fourth when Mebude crossed for Borges to score his second of the game, before the forward completed his hat-trick by sliding the ball under Castillo Marin in the Sevilla goal.

A superb start to the new UEFA Youth League campaign for City. 

Man of the Match 

Carlos Borges. Tireless running, searing pace and three fine goals. 

This was an outstanding display from a player with a big future ahead of him. 

How we lined up

It was 4-3-3 for City, the formation used across all age groups at the Club.

Mikki Van Sas started in goal, with Kane Taylor and Finley Burns forming a centre-back partnership ahead of him. Lakyle Samuel played at right-back and Tomas Galvez at left-back, with both instructed to get forward as much as possible and supplement our attacks.

Shea Charles, our captain, sat the deepest of our midfield three and screened the back four. Oscar Bobb and Nico O’Reilly played just ahead of him.

And upfront, Will Dickson led the line, with Adedire Mebude to his right and the powerful Carlos Borges to his left.

Teams

Sevilla

Sevilla XI: Castillo Marin, Veces (Vizcaino 69’), Hormigo, Ortin Munoz, Martinez, Benavides, Colado Lopez (Villar 60’), Rivera Cruz (Salguero 60’), Sow (Vazquez 75’), Carlos Alvarez, Bueno (Amuedo 75’)

Unused subs: Morales Roldan, Diaz Garmendi

City

City XI: Van Sas, Lakyle, Burns, Kane, Galvez, Charles, Bobb, O’Reilly, Mebude, Borges, Dickson (Adam 85’)

Unused subs: Alleyne, Murray-Jones, Wright, Ndala, Oboavwoduo, Okeke

What it means

City’s UEFA Youth League Group G campaign gets off to a flying start with three points away from home. 

In today’s other Group G match, Borussia Dortmund lost at home to FC Copenhagen. 

Matchday 1 results: Group G

Sevilla 1-5 City

Dortmund 0-2 FC Copenhagen 

What’s next?

It’s back to Premier League 2 action this weekend when our youngsters travel to Brighton. That game kicks off at 15:00 (UK).

City are looking to extend our unbeaten start to the new PL2 season. We currently sit third, two points off top spot, as we bid to win the title for the third-successive year.

And then on Wednesday, our UEFA Youth League campaign continues apace when Borussia Dortmund visit the Academy Stadium. That one kicks off at 15:00 (UK).