Haaland, Man City off to a flying start in Champions League with big win over Sevilla

SEVILLE, Spain — Erling Haaland scored twice as Man City opened their road to the Champions League title with a comfortable 4-0 win away from home at struggling LaLiga side Sevilla on Tuesday night.

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The tallies make Haaland the youngest ever player to reach 25 goals in the Champions League as Man City ran up the score in the second half, with Phil Foden scoring between the Norwegian international’s strikes and defender Ruben Dias adding a fourth deep in second-half injury time.

Rapid Reaction

1. Manchester City up and running in the Champions League

Pep Guardiola joked in his news conference on Monday that whenever Manchester City begin a new Champions League campaign, the first question is always about when they’re going to win it. He knows, though, that these questions will keep coming until he gets his hands on the trophy, but a dominant 4-0 win over Sevilla — inspired by another two goals from Erling Haaland and one each from Phil Foden and Ruben Dias — will offer encouragement that this could be his year.

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Sevilla, who have lost five straight games including going winless to open the LaLiga season, picked two 20-year-olds in central defence (Jose Angel Carmona and Tanguy Nianzou) and had no answer to Haaland — particularly his movement in the penalty area — and from the moment he scored his first of the night after 20 minutes, Man City were in complete control.

This should, on paper at least, have been their hardest away game in Group G, but the way they cruised to victory without getting out of second gear means they should qualify for the knock-outs with no problem at all. It’s there that City’s success in this season’s competition will be determined, but Guardiola couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Guardiola’s team have reached a final and a semifinal in the last two years and this time, they’ve got Haaland.

3. Defeat pushes Julen Lopetegui closer to the brink

All the talk around Seville, from fans to waiters and taxi drivers, is that Julen Lopetegui’s days as manager might be numbered. Sevilla have started LaLiga with one point from their first four games and sit 17th in the table; even though very few people around the city expected them to beat Man City, the result will do nothing for Lopetegui’s hopes of keeping his job.

The 56-year-old has guided Sevilla to three successive fourth-place finishes in Spain and lifted the Europa League trophy in 2020, but there is a growing feeling that a change could be coming. Lopetegui has done such an impressive job that he was in the conversation to become the next Manchester United manager before they eventually settled on Erik ten Hag, and he should have no problem at all finding work if and when his time at Sevilla comes to an end.

It’s unlikely that defeat to Man City, one of the best teams in the world, will spell the end for the former Spain boss, but he will be expected to show some signs of improvement in games against Espanyol — a couple of places above Sevilla in 15th — and FC Copenhagen over the next seven days.