Erling Holland was at his clinical best in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over 10-man Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League.
The Norwegian was named in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI after overcoming an ankle problem as he booked his place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
The same cannot be said for Newcastle United, however, as they lost 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund, leaving their hopes of qualification hanging in the balance.
How Man City’s rivalry unfolded
In typical fashion, City dominated possession and created several chances to open the scoring.
Rico Luis, one of Guardiola’s six changes, came close to finding the net but his shot was cleared off the line.
Young Boys goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi then made a double save, first denying Kyle Walker from a free-kick and then reacting quickly to prevent Phil Foden from scoring.
But City eventually broke the deadlock as Mathias Nunes drew a foul inside the penalty box and Holland stepped up to slot the spot-kick.
Just before the break, the defending champions took control as Foden scored a stunning goal.
The 23-year-old received a pass from Jack Grealish before rounding the Young Boys defender and then slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.
Six minutes after the break, Holland put the match to bed with a superb finish into the top corner.
The third goal lifted City up a gear as they entered the last 16 of the Champions League, and for the 11th season in a row, they won all four group-stage matches as they secured their 100th win in European competition.
The champions will hope to continue this fine form in the Premier League when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
See: Man City report and lineup
Not a perfect night on the town
City’s only negative injury of the evening came after John Stones was withdrawn at half-time, with Guardiola confirming his impact in the post-match interview.
„I’m very sorry for him because he was an incredible professional and it’s a big loss for us.
„What John does is very important, [but now he needs to] To recover, the season is long and [he] Will be strong again.”
Asked if Stones would be out for the long haul, Guardiola replied: „Yes, I think so.”
Newcastle’s Champions League hopes are in tatters
Newcastle United suffered a major setback in the UEFA Champions League as they lost 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund.
Goals in each half from Niklas Fulkrug and Julian Brand gave the German side a deserved win as they had a lot of work to do to qualify for the last-16 stage of the competition.
How the Newcastle match unfolded
With several players missing through injury, Don Burn became the latest name to be added to that list, with Eddie Howe making three changes for the trip to Dortmund.
Dino Livramento and Louis Hall both made their Champions League debuts.
However, both will have a taste of how difficult their evening will be as Dortmund created several chances in the first minute.
Fulcrug and Kareem Adeyemi set up Nick Pope in the opening 20 minutes.
And Dortmund didn’t have to wait long to open the scoring.
After Newcastle failed to clear the ball in their defence, Marcel Sabitzer played the ball across the six-yard box to Fulcruk, who had the simple task of scoring into an empty net.
That goal sparked Newcastle into life and they began to dominate the ball.
Their confidence grew in the game and they should have equalized in the second half through Jolinden who headed wide from inside the box after a Livramento through ball.
But too much time passed and Dortmund counter-attacked to seal the match.
Adeyemi cleared his lines and Brand fired a low shot past Pope into the bottom-right corner from his own half.
Newcastle now face a tall order to qualify and need a result against Paris Saint-Germain in three weeks.
See: Newcastle report and lineup
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