Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was not pleased with much of his team's performance but they got the job done
Manchester City beat Galatasaray 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday
Manchester City beat Galatasaray 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday
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You could hear a pin drop in the away end when referee Alejandro Hernandez blew for the start of the second half. There were still 45 minutes to go, but it felt like Manchester City had already won.
That it felt like that, and that a 2-0 win sent Pep Guardiola's side into the top eight - of the Champions League is to the immense credit of the Blues. Apart from a potentially worrying injury to Jeremy Doku that forced him off in the first half, it was a very positive night for City
The victory was all the better because the alarm bells before the match were almost making more noise than the thousands of Galatasaray fans who had travelled to Manchester. City's last Champions League game at the Etihad was the dismal 2-0 defeat to Leverkusen back in November, and last week they gave Bodo/Glimt their first ever win in the competition.
A Turkish team stacked with Premier League experience included former City favourites Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane ready to hurt Guardiola's side after killing him with kindness in the lead up to the game. With the whistles, boos, and flares coming from the away end - and the hundreds of half-and-half scarves in the home stands - making City feel like they were playing on enemy territory, this looked anything like a comfortable night for City.
All the better than that Erling Haaland brushed off missing a free header in the box in the fourth minute to open the scoring in the eleventh, chipping it delicately over Ugurcan Cakir with far more confidence than a man with no goals from open play in over a month should have. If the finish was good, the Norwegian was only able to run onto the ball because Doku had rolled through the middle with all the finesse of a crown green bowler.
Doku was instrumental again for the second, teeing up Rayan Cherki for a simple finish on the half-hour mark to calm City nerves. Guardiola was still apoplectic on the touchline at some unconvincing play, shouting over Gianluigi Donnarumma to get his orders across, but it felt like Galatasaray's resistance had been broken.
It was unfortunate for City to lose Doku shortly afterwards, given he had been the best player on the pitch, but their control in their game was replicated in the bigger picture as other teams above the Blues wobbled. Things got a little jittery for City in the table towards the end of the night as their top-eight hopes rested on as few as one goal elsewhere, but from the moment the start of the second half began with no noise from the away end it was clear Galatasaray were beaten.
City weren't great in the half, missing a number of chances to increase their goal difference and needing the experience of Donnarumma to see the game out. As the Blues can put their feet up in February in this competition though, they can move forward knowing they need to play better but also knowing - unlike last year - they are still very much alive heading into the Champions League knockouts.
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