Man City beat Villarreal, breaking away streak in Champions League

(Dan Tri) - With goals from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva, Man City won 2-0 at Villarreal in the third match of the 2025-26 Champions League group stage, which took place in the early morning of October 22.

Man City ended a five-match winless run away from home in the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over Villarreal. Pep Guardiola's side became the first team to win at the Estadio de la Ceramica since Real Madrid in March.

Villarreal squandered a two-goal lead at the weekend against Betis, as the two sides drew 2-2 in La Liga. Marcelino’s side continued to show defensive flaws from the opening minutes. Less than 30 seconds later, Man City had a golden chance to open the scoring, but Luiz Junior’s one-handed save denied Jeremy Doku.

Doku dominated Villarreal's field (Photo: Getty).

With the game dominating, Erling Haaland's trademark goal came shortly after. In the 17th minute, a clever combination on the right flank of The Citizens ended with a back pass from Rico Lewis, allowing the Norwegian striker to score his 12th consecutive goal for both club and country.

The Yellow Submarines barely had any significant attacks throughout the first half, largely due to Man City’s dominance. However, they did create a great chance just before half-time when Pape Gueye fired a left-footed shot over the bar from the edge of the box.

However, Man City doubled their dominance with a goal just five minutes before the break. Savinho, the key man in every attack for the visitors, delivered a precise cross for an unmarked Bernardo Silva to head into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.

The second half started off fairly smoothly in the early minutes, with Man City taking the initiative to control the ball. However, when they increased the speed, they still proved their danger with Savinho's finish, forcing Luiz Junior to show his talent in the 60th minute.

Haaland played energetically and made Villarreal's defense struggle (Photo: Getty).

It wasn’t until the 70th minute that Villarreal had a clear chance to score. The home side had already gone close twice in the space of 30 seconds. Gueye was the first to try his luck, hitting Ederson’s arm from the edge of the box, before Nicolas Pepe burst into the box and headed inches wide from six yards.

Haaland came close to scoring twice, but both were denied by Luiz Junior. The Norwegian’s failure to add to his tally in the game had little impact on the overall result, as Pep Guardiola’s side comfortably secured their fifth away win in their last 15 Champions League games against Spanish opposition.

This defeat means that Villarreal have yet to win a Champions League match this season after three matches, with just one point. Meanwhile, Man City have seven points and are currently ranked 5th in their group.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/man-city-thang-villarreal-pha-dop-san-khach-o-champions-league-20251022065159300.htm