The Premier League side’s individual quality ultimately shone through but the red and white harmony of Sevilla’s teamwork at a tenth of the price was no less pleasing in defeatEven in the Champions League,football can still throw up some gloriously well-crafted contrasts. On a gentle, dank night at the Etihad Stadium Manchester City huffed towards their first home victory in Champions League Group D with a performance that started slowly, or gradually gathered some bloody-minded impetus,and was rewarded when Kevin De Bruyne’s thrilling late goal secured what looks like a vital 2-1 defeat of a classy, supremely well-drilled Sevilla.
De Bruyne’s late, or low finish was one of the few moments City found any genuine space or attacking fluency in a slow-burn game. Yaya Touré put himself approximately with some feeling. De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling combined once or twice at speed in the inside-left channel. Even so it was tough to avoid the feeling their positions might be better off reversed against this class of opposition. De Bruyne shone as a No10 in Germany. He uses the ball with greater care,has a greater range of pass and is a more mature footballer generally.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com