Erling Haaland was on the scoresheet once more as Manchester City cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Villarreal in the Champions League at El Madrigal.
The Norwegian striker opened the scoring midway through the first half, sweeping home a low cross from Rico Lewis after a sharp exchange with Matheus Nunes on the right. It was Haaland’s 15th goal of the season in all competitions, underlining his relentless scoring form.
City’s dominance soon brought a second. Five minutes before the interval, Bernardo Silva ghosted into space inside the box and nodded in Savinho’s pinpoint delivery, leaving the Villarreal defence motionless.
Villarreal, sitting third in La Liga, rarely threatened to make a contest of it. Pape Gueye’s long-range effort was their only notable attempt before the break, while former Arsenal duo Nicolas Pépé and Thomas Partey missed late chances to reduce the deficit.
The second half drifted by at a measured pace, with City content to control possession and restrict their opponents to speculative efforts. Pépé wasted a free header midway through the half, and Partey struck the post in stoppage time, but the result was never in doubt.
Pep Guardiola’s side move on to seven points from their opening three group fixtures, extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to three matches. Villarreal, meanwhile, remain with just a single point after also losing to Tottenham earlier in the campaign.
