In the UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 first leg clash on Wednesday, Manchester City cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.
Manchester City posed a significant threat to the Gladbach defence in a one-sided affair, and it did not take long before they opened the scoring.
Full-back Joao Cancelo provided an excellent cross to Bernardo Silva in the 29th minute, who scored a header to lead Manchester City.
In pursuit of an equalizer, Borussia Monchengladbach hurled men forward but was rebuffed by Manchester City’s valiant defence.
Gabriel Jesus was met with a glorious chance in the second half to double Manchester City’s lead. However, he struggled to capitalize on the hosts’ defensive error and took too long before taking his shot at goal.
After Bernardo Silva linked up beautifully with Cancelo and headed the ball across goal, the Brazilian compensated for his miss moments later when he found the back of the net.
Joao Cancelo put in a man-of-the-match performance against Borussia Monchengladbach. He was a thorn in the hosts’ flesh, as he was more involved than his left-back role in the central midfield.
His flexibility allowed him to step forward while faithfully handling his defensive duties freely. As he laid the ball for Bernardo Silva early in the first half, Cancelo ended the match with brilliant assistance.
In this Round-of-16 fixture, the win gives Pep Guardiola’s men a significant advantage.
