Uche Cecil Izuora/Agency Report
The 2023 winners – who simultaneously surpassed Real Madrid’s 32-game unbeaten home run on Wednesday – barely got out of third gear as their cantered to a routine victory thanks to goals from Phil Foden, Erling Haaland (2), John Stones and Matheus Nunes.Foden looked back to his majestic best – and in good time too, with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku both sidelined – cutting inside to sweep a low strike beyond Peter Vindahl within the first three minutes.
The Sparta goalkeeper denied Haaland’s attempts to double City’s lead, rebuffing a pair of headers, but could do nothing about an audaciously instinctive effort midway through the second period.
In typically efficient fashion, having been involved in very little of the play, Haaland connected acrobatically with Savinho’s cross, and in turn, prised open the floodgates.
Three of City’s five-goal haul arrived in a blistering nine-minute spell and epitomised their dominance. Stones was next in line, arrowing a fine header from Nunes’ corner, and just four minutes later, Rico Lewis was linking with Nunes to feed Haaland for his second – the 44th time he’s found the net in 42 Champions League appearances.
Nunes himself rounded off a perfect night by tucking home a cool penalty late on.
The win eclipses the previous best unbeaten record (25) set by Manchester United between 2007-09, with City’s only loss since the 2022 semi-finals coming via a penalty shoot-out after two draws against Real Madrid.