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SCORE : FC Basel 0-4 Manchester City
GOAL-SCORERS : Manchester City - Ilkay Gundogan 14', 53' Bernardo Silva 18' Sergio Aguero 23'
Manchester City were on song in Switzerland, as they disposed off the side from Basel. Pep Guardiola's side has hardly had a bad game all season, and the baffling form of the Manchester side continued.
They blazed their way through the opposition rear-guard, on three occasions, all in a matter of 9 minutes, towards the end of the first quarter. They added another, 8 minutes into the second half.
Ilkay Gundogan bookended the scoring as Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva managed to get on the score-sheet.
Let's take a look at what caught our eye.
#5 Pep's brand of football is undeniable, so is its success
Pep Guardiola has silenced snide reporters, over-eager fans and football pundits alike. The obsessive-compulsive nature of the former defensive-midfielder, makes him a tactical mastermind. The numbers never lie. And the numbers for the Spaniard, for all the sides he has managed, are staggering.
P 319 W 244 D 48 L 27
Lost only 27. All the while playing some scintillating football, scoring 825 goals and conceding around one-fourth that number. Those are the kind of numbers we like. The kind that don't need explaining.
In the 9 seasons he's been in-charge of a football club, he hasn't managed to win the league on only 2 occasions (2nd with Barcelona in 10/11 and 3rd with City last season).
The former Barca and Bayern manager has quashed all doubts of him succeeding with a side that 'aren't already filled with champions'. As a matter of fact, he has gone a step further and mentored the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane, who have seen a change in their footballing fortunes under the Champions' League winner (both as player and manager), and has also propelled Kevin de Bruyne to the pinnacle of world football.
The most attractive brand of football on the planet, with an even more attractive (as if it were possible) record, Guardiola is the star on the proverbial tree of football managers.
Don't we all look stupid now with our criticism of spending £50 million on a full back.
#4 Gundogaaan, settles, fires in
What an unsettling feeling it must be for the other managers around the globe, that Ilkay Gudogan is only feeling his way back to the peak of his powers. We saw a few glimpses of that magic last night.
The pass-master almost opened the scoring with a well-directed header from a Bernardo Silva cross, only to be denied by Tomáš Vaclík in goal. But the former Dortmund man wasn't to be denied a second time. He beat the keeper on 14 minutes, steering a header inside the near post, off a Kevin de Bruyne corner. Yet another assist for the Belgian.
The German added a second after the restart, when he cut back onto his favorite right foot on the edge of the box, and with a half-stabbed, half-whipped effort, seemed to place the ball into the back of the net. Outrageous effort. Unerring accuracy.
He should have got his hat-trick but was brilliantly denied by the Czech in goal, as the German connected sweetly with a cross from the right flank.
The midfielder looked assured on the ball and was lively throughout. He looks like he is slowly regaining the confidence that makes him such a special talent, specifically on nights that are preceded by the champions' league anthem.
Something Manchester City can certainly do with, still alive in all four competitions, despite the League all but wrapped-up.
#3 Basel are a halfway decent side
No one really gave the home team a chance and as it turned out, rightly so. The Swiss team were no match for the 'team of the season', as many would say. But there were a few positives for them to take away from the game.
They will feel hard-done by the referee as appeals for a penalty were not entertained early on, when Nicolas Otamendi seemed to have brought down the loanee from RB Leipzig in Germany, Dimitri Oberlin, with a shoulder barge.
Although the result was never really in doubt, Basel could've grabbed a couple of consolation goals in front of their home crowd and despite a few really presentable opportunities, struggled to provide the same level of finishing, as their English counterparts.
Despite all of the scoring from City finishing before the hour mark, the players wearing the Red and Blue didn't let their shoulders droop as they looked to make a mark on the game in the final quarter, and to be fair should've done.
The manager will take some heart in the character shown by his players, under trying situations, against one of the best teams on the planet.
#2 Should the team from Switzerland have made it this far?
Despite Basel giving a decent account of themselves, the gulf in class between the two sides was as broad as daylight. City never really needed to get out of second-gear and were handed the initiative by the home team.
All of which begs the question, "Is the process of deciding the last sixteen the most efficient?"
As we have seen over numerous Champions' League campaigns, there are sides from the lesser known leagues across Europe, that often take up a berth that could've been filled by a much stronger team. It only takes away from the experience and quality of the competition. Just because the League is for all of Europe, doesn't necessarily mean that every country with a League has to be given a certain amount of weightage.
We aren't saying that we want to only watch teams from England, Spain and Germany, or having Neymar. We're saying we want to see the best come up against each other. If the teams from the lesser leagues match up, we'd love to watch them too. But we've seen it way too often to still be optimistic about the prospects of an FC Basel or a Panathinaikos or even an Olympiacos for that matter, in Europe's elite competition.
We'd much rather watch Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Villareal, AC Milan, Napoli, Lazio, Lyon and Marseille, all of whom will be scraping it out in the wretched Europa league.
#1 City can be quite jittery in defence
City might have managed to come away with a clean sheet from Basel, but their manager will be well aware that the performances from a few at the back, were inadequate.
The match had a frantic start with the home side pushing forward in the opening minutes. A long hopeful ball forward by the Paraguayan Blás Riveros, was chased down by Oberlin, who made a complete hash of his finish. Ederson was caught in no-man's-land, but luckily for the English side, Nicolas Otamendi was at hand to tidy up the loose ball.
The defence managed to catch its breath as the more attacking players in the side started to dominate the ball, with most of the game now being played in the opposition half. The back four didn't see much of the ball for the remaining half, but not before Otamendi's rash challenge inside the box, went unpunished by referee Jonas Eriksson. The visitors were lucky to not give away a penalty as St. Jakob-Park collectively let out its frustration.
Kompany looked far from his best, as he has for most of the season. A worrying sign for the away fans who often turn to him for inspiration. The Belgian looked off the pace and was often found wanting, as runners kept getting in behind regularly.
The second half only saw more mediocre defending from the back-line in sky blue. The Swiss side kept finding a way in behind and lacked the quality when it really mattered, to trouble the soon-to-be English Champions.
Any other side, with the quality to match that of the team bank-rolled by the royal family of Abu Dhabi, say PSG (powered by Qatari money) or Barcelona (powered by Lionel Messi) could have made it very uncomfortable for Pep's side. Something the Spaniard will know fully well.
Rest assured that Guardiola hasn't let these instances slip his mind and will be asking for a lot more from his defenders, as the next round will most definitely require a much more stable defensive display.
Other contenders for the title will be quick to point of these frailties at the back for City.
