Manchester City produced an outstanding performance to open their seventh successive Champions League campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win at Feyenoord.
John Stones headed two goals with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus also on target as City ran riot at De Kuip to spoil the Dutch champions’ return to the competition after a 15-year absence.
Stones set the tone for a dominant display by claiming the opener in the second minute and the game was effectively over inside 25 minutes as Aguero and Jesus struck.
Stones’ second just after the hour wrapped up the victory and left City looking strong already in Group F ahead of back-to-back home games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Napoli.
FT | ???? 0-4 ???? #feyvcity
What a way to kick-off our #UCL campaign! ???? pic.twitter.com/0lriJSlKo3— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 13, 2017
What they said
????To take a step forward, you have to start to be important home and away
Para crecer, hay que ser fuerte en casa y fuera#feyvcity #ucl pic.twitter.com/ascxeGf7OM— PepTeam (@PepTeam) September 13, 2017
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola : “I’m proud that we have scored nine goals in two games when we’ve had a lot of problems in that (area). Of course to score two early goals was so important. Three points are very important to start the group stage. Last season we were not able to win one game away. That’s why if you want to make a step forward you have to do this.”
Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst : “I said they are a very good team, with a lot of qualities and speed – everything to be a top team. We weren’t ready for them.”
Tweet of the Match
3 goals up be a few followers down by the end of half time it's seems ????
— Ricky Hatton MBE (@HitmanHatton) September 13, 2017
Star man – John Stones
A #UCL double for Manchester City defender John Stones! ???? pic.twitter.com/d9BczmLsOk
— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) September 13, 2017
Set City on the way to a convincing win with the opening goal in the second minute and doubled his tally with a powerful header in the second half. As well as making his presence felt at set-pieces, the England international was also strong at the back, giving City further confidence after Saturday’s victory over Liverpool that they can shut out teams without influential captain Vincent Kompany.
Moment of the match
5️⃣0️⃣ UEFA club competition goals for Sergio Agüero. ????????????
Best finisher in Europe? #UCL pic.twitter.com/aRrda3HkHx— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) September 13, 2017
City’s second goal had Pep Guardiola written all over it. It was a masterclass of speed of movement and thought combined with slick one-touch passing. Aguero’s lethal final touch finished off a wonderful move.
In the crowd
Not quite the evening we had hoped for… #feymci #UCL pic.twitter.com/qblZfJfYlI
— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord_int) September 13, 2017
Much was made of the intimidating atmosphere City were likely to face at a noisy De Kuip. The Feyenoord fans were expected to be in full voice as they enjoyed their long-awaited Champions League return. This seemed the case prior to kick-off but City’s start was so impressive they were quickly silenced. The City fans took up the mantle, at one point running through a medley of chants taunting their Feyenoord counterparts. They really made themselves heard, underlining a growing love for this competition.
Player ratings
Made of Stone pic.twitter.com/F1vNK93MWn
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 13, 2017
Feyenoord: Brad Jones 5, Jeremiah St Juste 5, Eric Botteghin 5, Jan-Arie van der Heijden 5, Miguel Nelom 5, Sofyan Amrabat 5, Karim El Ahmadi 5, Tonny Vilhena 5, Steven Berghuis 5, Michiel Kramer 6, Jean-Paul Boetius 5. Subs: Jens Toornstra (for Berghuis, 45) 5, Dylan Vente (for Kramer, 72) 5, Sam Larsson (for Amrabat, 78) 5,
Manchester City: Ederson 6, Kyle Walker 7, John Stones 8, Nicolas Otamendi 6, Benjamin Mendy 7, Fernandinho 7, Bernardo Silva 7, David Silva 7, Kevin De Bruyne 8, Gabriel Jesus 7, Sergio Aguero 7. Subs: Raheem Sterling (for Aguero, 60) 6, Fabian Delph (for David Silva, 67) 5, Leroy Sane (for Fernandinho, 72) 6.
Who’s up next?
Manchester City v Watford (Premier League, September 16)
PSV Eindhoven v Feyenoord (Eredivisie, September 17)
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here