Man City felt Pep Guardiola wrath but Erling Haaland brought calm amid chaotic 'holiday'
Pep Guardiola grew more concerned the longer he spent in Bratislava on Monday.
Presented with a gift from his opponents as soon as he walked into the stadium and compared to famous Catalan architect in a press conference, the Manchester City manager wanted everyone to remember that this was a competitive test in the most difficult tournament to win in European football. Guardiola wore a suit as sharp as the one he won the Champions League final in to set the tone, but to his frustration it was his players handing out the gifts.
Slovan were ready for a 'fiesta of Slovakian football' to celebrate the club's first ever home game in the Champions League, and they nearly got the perfect start when a poor Ilkay Gundogan corner was cleared, Phil Foden misjudged a clearance and Vladimir Weiss played in Marko Tolic and the Croatian's effort whizzed just wide of Stefan Ortega's post. The whole stadium froze to contemplate their wildest dreams coming true for a split-second before reality hit again.
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City would quickly make the game safe, with a Gundogan volley - his first goal for City since the 2023 FA Cup final - and a nice effort from Foden made it 2-0 inside 15 minutes. One of the biggest mismatches of the group stages was certainly playing out that way as the gulf between the teams was glaringly obvious; City played an astoundingly attacking formation with just three in defence and a holding midfielder to protect Ortega.
They certainly had the chances to extend their lead in the first half, striking the woodwork three times as they toyed with their hosts. But there was a sloppiness that Guardiola didn't like as normal rules were ignored as everyone tried to get on the scoresheet.
In truth, this was a big opportunity for City to build their goal difference in the new league format table where one or two goals can be the difference between finishing seventh or 11th. The problem for the Blues was that they seemed to treat it as that from the beginning, betraying the principle that has seen them have so much success of not taking anything for granted.
Rico Lewis earned the hairdryer treatment after pushing too far up for a corner when he was the last man and then losing the ball on the edge of the box, and minutes later Guardiola was repeatedly screaming at Foden for being careless with the ball.
Just before the hour mark came something that City had been lacking. Following another Slovan break that could have been avoided, Lewis stopped as he advanced up the pitch and put his foot on the ball to assess his options. Haaland used the pause to pounce into space, and rounded the keeper as the ball was played through to him to tuck in goal number 42 in the Champions League on his 41st appearance.
There was the calm in the chaos, bringing the clarity of a third goal to absolutely kill this game off and allow Guardiola to instantly call for Ruben Dias and James McAtee off the bench. Haaland's reward for his clever play was to watch the rest of the game with the substitutes.
McAtee earned his own present, scoring his first City goal after a slick move involving John Stones, Lewis and Foden. Once again, doing the basics right had been the most effective way to build the advantage.
It ended as a comfortable victory, and 4-0 in the Champions League should never be sniffed at whoever the opposition. A Slovakian newspaper had called this game 'the greatest of all holidays' and City certainly needed some time away from the Etihad after a draining spell of four games there in 11 days that included difficult games with Brentford, Inter, Arsenal, and - less understandably - Watford.
City are now unbeaten in 25 Champions League games stretching back to the Bernabeu in 2022 (penalty shootout defeats don't count as official losses) and avoiding defeat against Sparta Prague at home later this month will see them set a new UEFA record. Guardiola, the man who stopped Manchester United on 25 unbeaten matches by defeating them in the 2009 final with Barcelona, can move out on his own again if all goes to plan.
It is a sign of the high standards they have set though that a 4-0 victory away in Europe can have contained such frustration. Guardiola may not relax as he heads back to Manchester but he can take satisfaction as City march on.