Tuesday’s victory at Villarreal extended Manchester City’s unbeaten streak to nine games across all competitions. The win solidifies their strong position in the Champions League group stage, with two wins and one draw from their first three matches.
This season’s performance already marks a significant improvement on the last, which ended with an exit in the play-off round against Real Madrid.
Crucially, the result ends a five-game winless run for City in European away fixtures. This provides a timely confidence boost ahead of their next continental trip in December, when they will again face the La Liga giants.
City established control of the match early, and two first-half goals allowed them to comfortably manage the second period. Their previous Champions League away win was a 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava, and they never looked in trouble against Villarreal.
Striker Erling Haaland continued his prolific form, with his goal marking his ninth in as many games against Spanish opposition. The result also maintained manager Pep Guardiola’s impressive personal record against Villarreal, a team he has never lost to in nine meetings.
“[This is] a tough place to come,” said Guardiola. “We played really good. At the end they had one or two chances, but we played a fantastic game. It is a good step for us in this tournament.”
The only concern for City was an apparent injury to midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who has been filling in for Rodri and was forced to leave the pitch just before the hour mark.
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