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Manchester City set a new European record for English clubs with a 3-0 win over Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Erling Haaland scored twice either side of a Phil Foden goal to enable the Citizens qualify for the last 16 for the 11th consecutive season and maintain their perfect record in Group G.
Machine for scoring goals Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute, before Foden doubled the hosts’ lead on the stroke of halftime with a spectacular solo goal.
Six minutes into the second half, Haaland scored his second and City’s third goal of the night with a 20-yard strike into the top corner, bringing his season total to 15 goals in 17 games across all competitions, before Sandro Lauper was sent out for two bookable offences.
The Champions League holders finally cruised to a straightforward victory on home turf, extending their unbeaten run in Europe to 18 games, a new record for English teams and the fifth-longest run of any team since the Champions League’s inception in 1992.
Man City have broken the previous record established by last season’s Europa Conference League winners West Ham United, who saw their 17-game unbeaten run snapped at the hands of Olympiacos in the Europa League group stage last month.
Furthermore, victory over Young Boys aided Pep Guardiola’s team in hitting another milestone in the club’s development on the European arena, as they have racked up 100 Champions League victories in the second-fastest period by an English club, reaching the milestone after 183 matches.
Liverpool is the quickest English team to win 100 times in Europe, having done it in 170 games, while Manchester City has narrowly edged off Tottenham Hotspur, who needed 184 games to achieve the century mark.
Guardiola has overseen 52 of Manchester City’s 100 European victories, including a historic triple and the club’s first-ever Champions League triumph last season.
Guardiola’s predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini, led City to 13 European victories, while Joe Mercer, Roberto Mancini (11 each), Mark Hughes (seven), Tony Book (four), and Kevin Keegan (two) also won in Europe.
Man City has won triple digits in Europe in three distinct tournaments, with 68 in the Champions League, 21 in the Europa League/UEFA Cup, and 11 in the Cup Winners’ Cup, which the Citizens won in 1969-70.
Guardiola and co. will return to Premier League action on Sunday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, hoping to maintain their top-of-the-table position in their penultimate game before the international break.
