Basel vs Manchester City. UEFA Champions League First Knockout Round.
St Jakob-ParkAttendance36,000.
Wednesday 14 February 2018 08:23, UK
Manchester City took a giant stride towards the Champions League quarter-finals with a clinical 4-0 victory over Basel in the first leg of their last-16 tie at St. Jakob-Park.
City raced into a three-goal lead inside 24 minutes thanks to a near-post Ilkay Gundogan header (14), a Bernardo Silva volley (18) and Sergio Aguero's thunderous 198th goal for the club (23).
Basel had a strong penalty appeal declined before the City deluge but the Swiss champions - often the scourge of English sides in Europe - had no reply, as Gundogan's second (53) wrapped up a comprehensive victory for Pep Guardiola's men.
It means City can set their sights on the last eight of Europe's elite club competition for only the second time, barring a miraculous Basel turnaround in the return leg at the Etihad on March 7.
City tested Tomas Vaclik inside two minutes as he tipped a Gundogan header over the bar, but the Basel goalkeeper would spend the rest of the half picking the ball out his own net as City ran riot.
It could have been a different story for Basel had Dimitri Oberlin converted a sixth-minute chance after racing through on goal, or if Nicolas Otamendi's barge on the striker in the area had not gone unpunished.
But, after a couple of early scares, City settled into their groove and took the lead in emphatic style as Gundogan fired a near-post header into the back of the net via a Kevin De Bruyne corner.
One soon became two as Bernardo Silva chested and volleyed a deflected Raheem Sterling cross through the woeful defences of Vaclik, who stood and watched as Aguero bludgeoned a third to move within two goals of a double century of City goals.
Basel, a shadow of the side that beat Manchester United in the group stages, reached the interval without falling further behind, and Mohamed Elyounoussi's swerving shot drew a fine save from Ederson on 49 minutes.
But the hosts' faint hopes of a comeback were nonchalantly extinguished by Gundogan, who skipped inside three defenders before curling an unstoppable effort into the top corner. Such was City's dominance, they were able to give Leroy Sane a run out as he returned from a ligament injury five weeks ahead of schedule.
Oberlin spurned two chances to grab a consolation for Basel but City ruthlessly saw out the game, and could have had a fifth had Gundogan's goal-bound effort not been thwarted by the sprawling Vaclik 16 minutes from time.
All eyes were on Sergio Aguero ahead of kick-off following his four-goal haul against Leicester but City's dynamic midfielder stole the show. At the heart of an imperious display throughout, the German opened and completed the scoring in front of his international manager Joachim Low. And had it not been for the late heroics of Tomas Vaclik, he would have had hat-trick.
Manchester City will look to continue their trophy hunt on four fronts when they travel to Wigan in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, while Basel host St Gallen in the Swiss Super League on Saturday.
