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Erling Haaland found the net for a 12th consecutive game to extend his incredible scoring streak and help Manchester City end their winless away run in the Champions League with victory at Villarreal.
Haaland’s blistering form has brought 24 goals in 14 games for club and country this season, and here it helped City claim three points on the road in Europe for the first time in over a year.
The BBC sports report that Norwegian’s goal to open the scoring was that of a striker with deadly instincts, darting ahead of marker Juan Foyth and converting with a first-time finish from Rico Lewis’ low cross.
City had opportunities from the off – Haaland headed wide inside two minutes and Jeremy Doku tested Luiz Junior within the first few seconds with a low strike that the home goalkeeper batted away.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the first half and captain Bernardo Silva deservedly doubled the advantage before half-time, planting a free header into the net from Savinho’s cross.
Villarreal attempted to get back into the game in the second half as Pape Gueye stung the palms of Gianluigi Donnarumma and former Chelsea defender Renato Veiga headed against the post late on, but City were victorious.
“Last season was not good,” City Manager Guardiola told TNT Sport.
Tuesday’s triumph at Villarreal extended City’s unbeaten run in all competitions to nine games and they are well placed in fifth position in the group phase of the Champions League, winning two and drawing the other of their three matches.
They are already showing an improvement on their performance last season when they finished in 22nd place to go into the play-offs, where they were knocked out by Real Madrid.
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They will face La Liga giants Real on their next European away trip in December and will be lifted by having ended a run of five without victory away from home in the competition.
City’s previous Champions League win outside Manchester came on 1 October 2024 with their 4-0 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava, and they never looked in any trouble against Villarreal.
The early chances set the tempo and scoring two goals in the first half allowed City to control and see out the contest in the second period, showcasing their growing confidence.
Ruthless striker Haaland loves scoring goals against any team but particularly enjoys facing Spanish opposition, having now netted nine goals in as many games against opponents from La Liga.
Guardiola continues to take pleasure in playing Villarreal too as he has never tasted defeat against them in nine meetings.
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