Staff Reporter.
Riyad Mahrez scored twice and Cole Palmer got his first Champions League goal for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s side put in a superb performance to sweep aside Belgian side Club Bruges.
The visitors were slick and confident from start to finish as they moved top of Group A with their second win in this season’s competition.
City had been dominant from the outset but their opening goal did not arrive until the 30th minute when Joao Cancelo latched onto Phil Foden’s brilliant ball to slot through the legs of former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Mahrez then added a second from the penalty spot just before the break after he had been fouled.
City did not ease up in the second half and the third goal arrived quickly as Mahrez found Kevin de Bruyne, whose one-touch ball sent Kyle Walker through and the full-back fired into the far corner.
Nineteen-year-old academy graduate Palmer then scored his side’s fourth just two minutes after coming onto the pitch, bending a fine shot into the back of the net from the edge of the box.
Hans Vanaken turned home a late cross for the hosts but City responded immediately to get their fifth, Mahrez running through before finishing coolly one-on-one.
The victory for City was the ideal response to defeat at Paris St-Germain in their previous Champions League outing as they moved onto six points from three games.
UEFA Champions League Results and Fixtures:
Tuesday 19 October
Group A: Club Brugge 1 – 5 Manchester City , Paris vs Leipzig
Group B: Atlético de Madrid vs Liverpool, Porto vs AC Milan
Group C: Beşiktaş 1 – 4 Sporting CP, Ajax vs Dortmund
Group D: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid, Inter vs Sheriff.
Wednesday 20 October.
Group E: Barcelona vs Dynamo Kyiv (18:45 CET), Benfica vs Bayern
Group F: Young Boys vs Villarreal, Manchester United vs Atalanta
Group G: Salzburg vs Wolfsburg (18:45 CET), LOSC vs Sevilla
Group H: Chelsea vs Malmö, Zenit vs Juventus.