3 Up & 2 Down: Manchester City 5-0 FC Copenhagen

It was a Wednesday evening stroll in the park for Manchester City as they comfortably dispatched FC Copenhagen 5-0 in Group G of the UEFA Champions League. Here’s a look at what’s trending up and trending down after the match. Let’s start with the positives.

3 Up

Sergio Gomez - Sergio had a lovely match against FCC. Making his full UCL debut at Left Back, he was positive and involved. Throughout the match, the left side of the pitch was where City really made it happen offensively and Gomez was right in the middle of it. Creative crosses and overlapping play with Jack Grealish led to several chances. And for good measure, Davit Khocholava’s 39th-minute own goal was forced from a Gomez centering attempt.

Two at the Top - Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez starting together. Oh, what a beautiful thing. City supporters have been asking Pep Guardiola to put both of his new strikers on the pitch in the starting XI since the summer. It happened on Wednesday and the results were very good. Arana dropped in behind Haaland and created space for the God of Thunder to bag a first-half brace before getting a tap-in of his own in the second half.

Photo by Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Jack’s Trophy Case - UEFA Champions League Man of the Match. Who would have thought that would happen 3 ¹⁄₂ weeks ago? The early goal against Wolves seems to have given Jack his confidence back. Since he has seemed freer and is playing to his strengths within the Pep Guardiola system. No goals or assists against Copenhagen, but massively involved in the build-up to at least two tallies.

2 Down

The #3 - Three matches into group play and City have a 3-point lead by taking all 3 points in all 3 matches. They have scored 11 goals and conceded 1 for a 10-goal differential. This means that they are winning by an average margin of 3.3 goals. With 3 games remaining, City have 3 chances to secure a place in the knockouts by gaining one more point.

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Scoring Records - Erling Haaland is not impressed with your records. With Wednesday’s brace, Haaland passed legendary players, Luis Suarez, and Rivaldo on the UEFA Champions League All-Time Goal-Scoring list. He is currently scoring 1.27 goals per UCL appearance and if he scores only 1 goal per game, he will move ahead of several more greats soon. If Erling scores just 5 more goals this term, (it feels as though he will score twice that many at least), he will best the career totals of, Kaká, Wayne Rooney, Samuel Eto’o, and Arjen Robben.

A comfortable and balanced performance from City. A special honorary mention Up to Riyad Mahrez who played a very nice match on the right side and scored the penalty. There you have it Cityzens. Who and what were your ups & downs? Give us a shout in the comments.