Man City 2-0 Galatasaray: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Jose Mourinho sends Pep Guardiola through

Manchester City overcame Galatasaray 2-0 and scraped into the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to Benfica's victory over Real Madrid.

While hoping for some favourable results elsewhere, Pep Guardiola's men focused on the task at hand and strolled into a 2-0 lead before the half-hour mark courtesy of Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki.

Jeremy Doku set up both goals before being forced off injured, the one real blot on the first-half notebook for Man City, although their Turkish opponents did give Gianluigi Donnarumma a couple of things to do.

Both sets of fans could have asked for a refund after a forgettable second 45 - barring a brief pitch invasion by protestors - as City saw out the win that saw them do their bit to make the top eight.

The Etihad faithful subsequently followed events in Portugal with bated breath, but Benfica's extraordinary 4-2 victory over Real Madrid saw City finish eighth at the expense of Los Blancos, while playoff-bound Galatasaray ended the night in 20th.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

They did enough.

Starting the night 11th in the league-phase table, City's two-goal success may not have sufficed had other scorelines not gone their way, but Guardiola's men will crucially avoid the dreaded two-legged playoff.

While the Sky Blues are still competing on four fronts, playing as few games as possible - as paradoxical as that sounds - is of paramount importance, especially with yet another injury to worry about.

Doku dazzled and delighted in the first 30 minutes before limping off the pitch, but the arrival of Antoine Semenyo - ineligible for action tonight - at least means that any layoff for the Belgian may not prove as harmful as it could have been.

Guardiola and co can now forget about continental action for a month or so, but whether they actually will is another question entirely, as Inter Milan or Real Madrid could await in the last 16.

MAN CITY VS. GALATASARAY HIGHLIGHTS

Erling Haaland goal vs. Galatasaray (11th min, Man City 1-0 Galatasaray)

Erling Haaland is back ??

? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/kQONucNSN1
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 28, 2026

City's deadly duo combine for a slick opening goal!

Doku takes up a central position and slides a perfectly-weighted through ball into Haaland, who coolly chips Ugurcan Cakir to propel the hosts into the lead.

Rayan Cherki goal vs. Galatasaray (29th min, Man City 2-0 Galatasaray)

Rayan Cherki doubles the lead for Man City ?

? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/6tFGpL9MDU
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 28, 2026

Doku delivers, Cherki converts!

The former creates an angle for an inside pass in the left-hand side of the box, and Cherki - completely unmarked - takes one touch before calmly slotting home from about 12 yards.

MAN OF THE MATCH - JEREMY DOKU

JEREMY DOKU IS ON FIRE!!!!!! WOW!! ?‍? pic.twitter.com/jX1UGrNjs6
— City Report (@cityreport_) January 28, 2026

Despite only being on the field for 37 minutes, Doku was the architect behind both of City's goals tonight, goals that ultimately proved crucial in their bid to crack the top eight.

The former Rennes starlet also completed five successful dribbles - an unsurprising statistic - and the hope now is that his suspected hamstring problem is not that severe.

MAN CITY VS. GALATASARAY MATCH STATS

Possession: Man City 50%-50% Galatasaray

Shots: Man City 10-4 Galatasaray

Shots on target: Man City 5-4 Galatasaray

Corners: Man City 4-4 Galatasaray

Fouls: Man City 8-10 Galatasaray

BEST STATS

Jérémy Doku UCL assists:

3 — This season
2 — Previous 2 seasons combined pic.twitter.com/l7DdmLODMu
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) January 28, 2026

Non-penalty goals in UCL:

48 — Erling Haaland
47 — Thierry Henry

Haaland has played 4,000 fewer minutes. pic.twitter.com/StfiQqvCuy
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) January 28, 2026

WHAT NEXT?

City fans will put February 27 in their diary for the last-16 draw, while Galatasaray will learn their playoff fate on Friday - they will take on Atletico Madrid or Juventus for the right to advance to the next stage.

Back to domestic matters, the Sky Blues travel to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this Sunday, the same day that the Turkish side host Kayserispor in the Super Lig.