Manchester City can reflect on a job well done after beating Paris Saint-Germain to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as Group A winners.
Pep Guardiola’s side delivered a vintage performance at the Etihad Stadium, where they were the superior side throughout and showed their character to come from behind after Kylian Mbappe had fired the visitors in front against the run of play.
Facing the electric trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, City displayed a potent mix of silk and steel to overturn the deficit with Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus finishing off a couple of classy passing moves to wrap up the three points.
There was plenty to admire about the performance of both the team and individuals.
Below, we look at some of the most striking facts and stats from a thoroughly deserved victory.
Stats and facts
- City outran and out passed Mauricio Pochettino’s men, covering more distance (111.7km v 105.3km), registering more recoveries (45 v 42) and playing more passes (596 v 520) than the French outfit.
- In a first half in which Guardiola’s men were on top for the majority, City had 23 touches in the opposition penalty area, whilst PSG totalled three.
- Man of the match Bernardo Silva completed every pass he attempted (47/47). The Portuguese was the only player to do so, with John Stones achieving the next best pass completion rate of 97.6% (40/41).
- Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling proved to be City’s most effective creative forces, both playing more key passes (3) than anyone else on the pitch. A key pass is defined as one which leads to an attempt on goal.
- Sterling’s goal means he has now scored as many in the Champions League as Frank Lampard (23), with Wayne Rooney (30) and Paul Scholes (24) the only Englishmen to score more in the competition.
- City’s victory guaranteed we finish top of our group for the fifth consecutive season. We are only the second English side to do so in the current format of the competition after Manchester United between 2006-07 and 2010-11.