Manchester City made it two wins out of two in the UEFA Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
This was after goals from substitutes Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden gave Pep Guardiola’s side a 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
It was a game that could easily have ended in frustration, with Dinamo defending deep and effectively, but it turned on the introduction of England international Sterling in the 56th minute.
The Croatians frustrated the Premier League champions with some excellent defending in the first half.
All Manchester City could manage from their domination was Ilkay Gundogan’s shot against the bar in the 21st minute.
This was after an earlier effort from Sergio Aguero had been well dealt with by Dinamo goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
David Silva screwed a shot wide after the ball fell to him inside the area.
But Manchester City did not create enough from the amount of possession they enjoyed.
Guardiola’s side attacked almost exclusively down the left, where full-back Benjamin Mendy was allowed plenty of space.
But it was either the delivery into the box let them down or the Dinamo defence stood firm.
Riyad Mahrez on the right flank saw too little of the ball and Manchester City failed to really use the full width of the field.
They were too often getting involved in “five-a-side” contests on the edge of the box.
The introduction of Sterling increased the tempo and width of Manchester City’s play and it was the England international who broke the deadlock in the 66th minute.
He turned in a low cross from Riyad Mahrez after a superb diagonal pass from Rodri.
Dinamo tried their luck in the final stages but were caught on the counter.
In stoppage time Sterling broke and slipped the ball wide to Foden who confidently drove home.
Manchester City move on to six points from their opening two games after winning their first match 3-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk, while Dinamo have three points.
Reuters/NAN
