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Manchester City ended their Champions League group with a solid victory over Sevilla at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The opening 45 minutes in Manchester were dismal and devoid of action, until the visiting side took a surprise lead into the break following Rafa Mir’s header.
Manchester City sprang to life in the second half, soon getting the scores level thanks to academy graduate Rico Lewis, who powered in a shot from Julian Alvarez’s clever pass.
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Alvarez then turned from provider to scorer, as the Argentine hit home substitute Kevin De Bruyne’s whipped, curling ball.
The result was well and truly in the bag when Riyad Mahrez thumped in a third, after being played in by Alvarez.
Wednesday night's result means that Manchester City have gone unbeaten through this campaign’s group stage, having recorded four wins and two draws.
The match, described as a dead rubber by many prior to kick-off, started in expected fashion with both teams seemingly hesitant to commit numbers forward.
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Chances came few and far between with Ruben Dias having the home side's first real effort, but the Portuguese defender saw his attempt go wide following a free kick delivery by Phil Foden.
Youngster Rico Lewis then decided to try and put the spectators out of misery, by having a thunderous shot from around 30 yards out but saw his effort skim past Yassine Bono’s goal.
Sevilla took a surprise lead with their first corner of the game, as Isco’s delivery was met by Rafa Mir, to head past Stefan Ortega.
Manchester City started the second half behind and Pep Guardiola decided to try and change this by bringing off Jack Grealish and replacing him with Rodri in a tactical substitution.
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This proved its weight in gold, as the change in system allowed City to get forward and Julian Alvarez’s pass to Lewis was converted with confidence by the youngster.
Lewis is now Manchester City’s youngest goalscorer of all time in the Champions League, once again showing the defender has a bright future ahead of him.
After a lull in play, Guardiola made a further two changes, bringing on Joshua Wilson-Esbrand and Kevin De Bruyne for Sergio Gomez and Cole Palmer.
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This was the perfect decision from the Catalan coach as the Belgian star played in Alvarez to fire Manchester City into the lead for the first time on the night.
It did not take the Premier League champions to double their lead, as the man-in-form - Alvarez - played in Riyad Mahrez who hit home, securing the result for Guardiola’s men.
The Manchester City manager then made his final substitution of the night, taking off the young goalscorer Rico Lewis to a raucous Etihad Stadium standing applause, with Joao Cancelo coming on.
City finished the match as 3-1 winners, marching onto the knock-out rounds of the Champions League.
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Pep Guardiola’s side will discover who they will face in the last 16 stage on Monday when the draw for the first knock-out round is made.
Back to domestic duties, Manchester City are next in action on Saturday lunchtime when they host Fulham in the Premier League.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images / AlamyTopics: Manchester City, Sevilla, Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, Football
