The return of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero to action saw Manchester City close out their triumphant Champions League group campaign with a routine 3-0 win over Marseille at the Etihad Stadium.
The hosts got off the blocks with intent and could have been had the opener early in the tie. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan delivered a wonderful out-swinging free-kick from the right in the 13th minute and centre back Aymeric Laporte should probably have done better than heading over under pressure from defender Alvaro Gonzalez.
The visitors grew into the contest and, shortly after injury concerns forced City into substituting centre back Eric Garcia, Dimitri Payet had a deft finish with the outside of his right foot ruled out rightly for a clear offside.
John Stones, who was introduced for the injured Garcia, made a crucial sliding tackle to deny centre forward Valere Germain after Florian Thauvin had skipped past left back Nathan Ake with ease.
In the second period, Guardiola’s tweaked the outlook of the attack, replacing Gundogan with Raheem Sterling and dropping Bernardo Silva to make way for Phil Foden. The changes paid swift dividends with pace and creativity seeing improvements from the middle.
Midfielder Silva burst forward after picking up Stones’ pass to play in winger Riyad Mahrez, who laid on Torres for a composed close-range conversion that opened the scoring.
Before the hour mark, Foden had two opportunities to widen the scoreline but he scuffed wide on the end of a move he started the first time before shooting too close to Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda, who kept out a stinging 65th-minute drive from right back Kyle Walker.
Although, Torres was unable to convert the rebound on that occasion, when Mandanda parried Ake’s firm header from Foden’s corner in the 77th minute, City’s arch poacher Aguero was lurking to tap in from close range.
Then, in the final minute, Sterling gratefully smuggled the ball home when the unfortunate Mandanda could only push Torres’ cross onto Alvaro.
Next up for City is the short trip to face neighbours Manchester United on Sunday, while Marseille will target a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 victory when they host Monaco the day before.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
