1 Bernardo brilliance
City scored four excellent goals and took a firm grip on this tie – but one of the moments of the match was Bernardo’s barely believable piece of control during the second half.
With the ball plummeting down from high in the chill Swiss air, Bernardo watched it drop over his shoulder and stopped it stone dead on his toe with mere inches to spare from the touchline. So, so good.
2 Ilkay efficiency
The Germany international has been having a quietly impressive season for City, and seems to be ratcheting up the quality with every game.
His passing accuracy of 91.3 per cent is the highest of City’s regular midfielders, and when he adds goals to his game, as he did against Basel, he is a complete performer. His second in particular caught the eye, a pure strike high into the side netting.
READ: Vinny: Now let’s finish the job in style
3 Class is permanent
There has been plenty of change in the City squad of late as new energy has been added. But it was great to see two long servers doing what they do best against Basel; Vincent Kompany bossing the backline and Sergio Aguero maintaining his incredible form up front with his 29th goal of the season.
Their experience in his competition with City could be vital to a successful run.
4 Managing the minutes
With City scorching to a 4-0 lead within 53 minutes, boss Pep Guardiola was able to take Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling off around the hour mark and bring Leroy Sane and David Silva back into the fold.
Still going strong in four competitions, this level of squad management and control could prove invaluable.
And with the returns of Gabriel Jesus and Benjamin Mendy coming over the horizon, Guardiola’s options are set to widen again.
