City gobble up Arsenal, their main rival 4-1 and take a big step towards the English Premier League title.
Compared to the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United, Ederson, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne return to the City starting line-up.
Granit Xhaka recovers from illness and replaces Fábio Vieira in the starting line-up.
As early as the third minute there is a very dangerous episode in the visitors’ penalty box. Thomas Partey plays hard against de Bruyne, who rushes on the ball which is cleared by Aaron Ramsdale, but referee Michael Oliver dismisses the hosts’ appeal for a penalty.
City are not discouraged and open the scoring in the seventh minute. Kevin de Bruyne does it after a superb pass from Erling Haaland, who pulls down three opposition players. The Belgian dives from the centre circle and strick a long-range shot into the bottom corner of the net to make it 1-0.
Having quickly opened the scoring, the Cityzens begin to dictate the game. On 26 minutes, de Bruyne almost makes it a double, but his shot is blocked by Ben White at the last minute. Two minutes later, Ramsdale saves his team after a shot by Erling Haaland.
City continue to tear apart their defense — Haaland is particularly diligent. Already in stoppage time, Stones headers an accurate shot after de Bruyne’s free-kick, and thanks to VAR, the goal is scored, although the referee initially signalled offside — 2-0.
Soon after the start of the second half, Haaland goes one-on-one but cannot get past Ramsdale. In the next attack Erling acts as an assistant. He finds de Bruyne on the left-hand edge of the penalty area who fires a low shot into the net to make it 3-0.
Three goals saturate the home side and then they lose their grip a little. The visitors try to clear the scores but do not seriously threaten Ederson’s goal.
It’s only in the 86th minute that Arsenal manage a prestigious goal. Rob Holding’s free-kick from outside the box is headed over by Leandro Trossard for a 3-1 win.
However, it isn’t the end. With time left in the penalty area, substitute Phil Foden ricochetes off Holding to put Haaland in front, and the Norwegian, who lets his hair down, fires an unstoppable shot from beyond the 11-metre mark — 4-1.
City devour Arsenal from the outset, showing their superiority and pulling off a confident win.