'Brilliant' Man City ease into Champions League last 16 as Haaland closes in on record

Jack Grealish praised "brilliant" Manchester City as the holders eased into the Champions League knockout stages with two matches to spare after Tuesday night's 3-0 victory over Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland passed a late fitness test to score twice, the first a penalty, either side of Phil Foden's goal in first-half injury time to ensure City made it four wins from four in Group G.

Haaland was fit to start after hurting his ankle in the first half of City's 6-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

And the Norway striker showed there was no lingering injury issue as he took his Champions League goal tally to a remarkable 39 in 34 matches.

He put City ahead with a first-half penalty and netted again with a brilliant long-range effort after Foden's eye-catching strike doubled the holders' lead.

Young Boys had Sandro Lauper sent off in the second half of a one-sided contest that extended City's impressive streak of winning all 23 of their home games in 2023.

Sunderland hold the English record with 24 successive home wins, a mark that dates back to 1891 and 1892.

"[Pep] Guardiola gives us so much. In my opinion, he’s the best manager in the world," midfielder Grealish said. "He’s shown that over the years. You can have the best manager in the world, but you also need the team and dressing room to do that.

"We have a brilliant team, on the pitch and also off the pitch, we have a team that is so close. We love being with each other and we love playing with each other and that shows on the pitch."

City are unbeaten in their past 17 Champions League games and Guardiola now has the opportunity to rest players in the last two group matches if he wishes, giving him the option to prioritise Premier