Erling Haaland found the net yet again as Man City won in Spain. Check out the best facts and Opta data from this Champions League game in our Villarreal vs Manchester City stats page.
Erling Haaland claimed his 15th goal of the season as Manchester City strolled to a 2-0 win against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League at El Madrigal.
Haaland gave the Premier League side the lead from a Rico Lewis cross, before Bernardo Silva made it two before half-time, heading in from Savinho’s accurate ball.
Despite sitting third in La Liga, Villarreal didn’t put up much of a fight, with former Arsenal players Nicolas Pépé and Thomas Partey coming close to scoring late on, but the threat from Marcelino’s men was otherwise minimal.
City move on to seven points after three games in the league phase, while Villarreal remain on just one point, having also lost to Tottenham on Matchday 1.
It was a relatively quiet opening to the game, until the inevitable occurred in the 17th minute. Matheus Nunes on the right played a perfectly weighted ball inside to Lewis, and his low cross found Haaland, who swept the ball home with his right foot to put City ahead.
Pape Gueye went close with a shot from the edge of the box for the hosts, but otherwise it was a tame first half from them.
They were made to pay for a lack of threat when Silva headed in the second in the 40th minute, completely unmarked to do so as Savinho played a perfect cross into the middle of the Villarreal penalty area.
The game was played at a slow tempo from then on, with City seemingly holding their opponents at arm’s length.
It took over 16 minutes for the first shot of the second half, while the first particularly interesting occurrence after half-time came in the 71st minute when former Arsenal man Pépé had a free header, but he could only divert it wide of the left-hand post.
Haaland had a rare chance for another goal when Mateo Kovacic played a neat ball over the top for him, but his shot was well parried by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Júnior.
Partey hit the post with a header in the closing moments, but the result here was never really in doubt as City made it three wins in a row in all competitions.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Villarreal vs Manchester City stats from their Champions League meeting at Estadi de la Ceràmica.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
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