It was a night that saw a rampant Raheem Sterling claim a third hat-trick of the season, an achievement that took his tally of league goals this term to 17 and his total in overall competitions to 27.
But there was another, arguably even more impressive, achievement chalked up by City during the course of our AMEX Stadium success.
When Gabriel Jesus found the target to register his second strike in successive games, it took the Brazilian to the 20-goal mark for the season in all competitions.
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With the injured Sergio Aguero having already passed that benchmark earlier in the campaign, Jesus’s effort meant that City became the first side in Europe’s elite five leagues to have three players to have scored 20 goals in 2019/20.
It’s a hugely impressive achievement – not least when you consider the wealth of attacking talent plying their trade across the continent.
Furthermore, it merely reinforces the quality and consistency running through City’s collective strike force and is a measure of the armoury at manager Pep Guardiola’s disposal.
A comparison with the leading scorers in Europe’s top five other leagues gives added context to City’s prowess in front of goal.
Though we may have relinquished the Premier League crown to Liverpool, with 91 goals already amassed from 35 league games to date, City are once again poised to finish the domestic season as England’s highest scorers.
The goal threat is spread throughout Guardiola’s talented squad of course but Sterling, Aguero and Jesus lead the individual standings.
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Sterling has claimed 17 in the league and 27 in all competitions with Aguero 16 (23) and Jesus 12 (20) also having hit the top 20.
Of our European counterparts, Germany’s Bayern Munich bear closest comparison in the individual goal-scoring stakes.
The newly crowned German champions do have the edge over City collectively, having bagged 100 for the season from their 34 Bundesliga games.
A large part of that impressive achievement is down to the exploits of leading marksman Robert Lewandowksi, with the Polish strike enjoying a remarkable individual campaign.
To date, Lewandowski has scored an incredible 51 goals in all competitions, including 34 in the German topflight which has now concluded.
Serge Gnabry also has 20 for the season in all competitions with Thomas Mueller Bayern’s next top overall scorer with 12 in total.
Of Europe’s other leading scorers from the elite leagues, Paris St Germain are the Club that bears closes closet comparison with City’s three 20-somethings.
Of course, the French Ligue One season was curtailed early due to the COVID-19 pandemic so we will never know what PSG’s final individual league tallies would have been, though Thomas Tuchel’s side are still contenders in the Champions League.
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When the campaign was ended, Kylain Mbappe was, unsurprisingly, out on his own in the scoring charts with 18 league goals and the French striker is currently on 29 for the season in all competitions.
Italian international Mauro Icardi has also hit the 20 mark in total, 12 coming in the league, while Jesus’s Brazilian colleague Neymar currently has 18 for the season cumulatively.
It’s a further measure of City’s consistency in front of goal that Barcelona and Atalanta – the leading scorers in La Liga and Serie A respectively – only currently have one player to have registered 20 or more goals this term.
And with City still to play three more league games and still going strong in both the FA Cup and Champions League, who’s to say what our final collective and individual tallies will be?
Here’s a breakdown of the Europe’s leading scoring charts in full:
PREMIER LEAGUE
Leading scorers: Manchester City – 91 league goals
Top individual scorers:
Raheem Sterling 17 (27)
Sergio Aguero 16 (23)
Gabriel Jesus 12 (20)
BUNDLESLIGA
Leading scorers: Bayern Munich - 100 league goals
Top individual scorers:
Robert Lewandowski 34 (51)
Serge Gnabry 12 (20)
Thomas Mueller 8 (12)
SERIE A
Leading scorers: Atalanta - 87 league goals
Top individual scorers:
Luis Muriel 17 (18)
Josip IIicic 15 (21)
Duvan Zapata 15 (16)
LA LIGA
Leading scorers: Barcelona - 80 league goals
Top individual scorers:
Lionel Messi 22 (27)
Luis Suarez 15 (18)
Antoine Griezmann 9 (15)
LIGUE 1
Leading scorers: Paris St Germain - 75 league goals
Top individual scorers:
Kylian Mbappe 18 (29)
Neymar 13 (18)
Mauro Icardi 12 (20)
