Erling Braut Haaland continued his prolific start to life at Manchester City by scoring twice as Pep Guardiola's side thrashed Sevilla 4-0 in their Champions League opener this evening.
The Norway international took his tally to 12 goals in just seven games since his summer arrival from Borussia Dortmund, and 25 in 20 only Champions League outings, with his brace in Andalusia.
Those goals came either side of a smart Phil Foden finish before Ruben Dias capped off the scoring as Man City began their latest quest for their most coveted trophy of all in ominous fashion.
The result leaves them top of Group G, above Borussia Dortmund after the Bundesliga side beat Copenhagen 3-0 earlier in the day.
Sevilla's poor start to the season continues, meanwhile, with Julen Lopetegui under increasing pressure after seeing his side lose four and win none of their five outings across all competitions so far in 2022-23.
It took only 20 minutes for Haaland to get his customary goal, continuing his trend of scoring on his Champions League debut for clubs, having also achieved the feat with Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund.
3 - Erling Haaland is the fourth player in UEFA Champions League history to score in his first appearance for three different teams (Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Man City), after Fernando Morientes, Javier Saviola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Introduction. pic.twitter.com/POz5iuDRCL
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 6, 2022
It came in trademark fashion too, as the 22-year-old peeled away from his marker at the back post to knock a simple close-range finish home following Kevin De Bruyne's cross.
Guardiola's side dominated proceedings and Sevilla offered little in reply, with the hosts' main threat coming at the end of the first half when Papu Gomez fired wide.
De Bruyne should have added to Man City's lead early in the first half when he was denied by Bono in a one on one, but the Premier League champions did not have to wait too much longer for their second as Foden showed good close control and composure inside the box to work space for a shot and then fire it into the bottom corner.
Foden was also involved in the third when his shot was saved by Bono, who could only push the ball into the path of Haaland for the deadly striker's second of the night.
Haaland squandered another chance shortly before that and saw his opportunity of a third hat-trick in four games taken away when he was withdrawn.
Man City's dominance showed no signs of abating, though, and both Cole Palmer and Haaland's replacement Julian Alvarez somehow failed to add a fourth before Dias did cap off the scoring from Joao Cancelo's cross in stoppage time.
Guardiola's men will now turn their attention back to the Premier League, where they face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, before hosting Haaland's former club Dortmund next week.
Sevilla, meanwhile, renew their search for a first win of the campaign away to Espanyol at the weekend before taking on Copenhagen on Champions League matchday two.
Barney Corkhill
