Marseille 0-3 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola's men cruise to victory against under-par hosts

After the second Manchester City goal went in, with 12 minutes remaining, Andre Villas-Boas decided to bring Dimitri Payet on. He always was a tactical genius.

So it wasn’t just that Marseille ran into Manchester City’s best performance of the season so far, more that they invited them to deliver it. Villas-Boas left out some of his best players, not just Payet but also Morgan Sanson, to better contain City and was a goal down inside 18 minutes.

So that was plan A done. Plan B wasn’t much better, sadly. More caution, more men behind the ball. A lame attempt to get back in the game after half-time. 

Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent start to life in the Champions League with a confident 3-0 win over Marseille

Manchester City maintained their 100 per cent start to life in the Champions League with a confident 3-0 win over Marseille

The visitors were the better side from the first whistle and hardly broke out of third gear in a rampant display in France

The visitors were the better side from the first whistle and hardly broke out of third gear in a rampant display in France 

Manchester City's new signing Ferran Torres got the team up and running as he tapped home after Kevin de Bruyne's cross

Manchester City’s new signing Ferran Torres got the team up and running as he tapped home after Kevin de Bruyne’s cross

Torres is embraced by his team-mates after breaking the deadlock in France as he celebrates his second goal for the club

Torres is embraced by his team-mates after breaking the deadlock in France as he celebrates his second goal for the club 

Ilkay Gundogan was on hand to thump home the second goal thanks to great work by Phil Foden on the left hand side

Ilkay Gundogan was on hand to thump home the second goal thanks to great work by Phil Foden on the left hand side 

The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder wheels away after securing the team's vital two-goal cushion in Marseille

The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder wheels away after securing the team’s vital two-goal cushion in Marseille

Sterling added a third to put gloss on an impressive attacking display from Pep Guardiola's side against a difficult opponent

Sterling added a third to put gloss on an impressive attacking display from Pep Guardiola’s side against a difficult opponent 

MATCH FACTS 

MARSEILLE: Mandanda, Sakai, Balerdi, Alvaro, Caleta-Car, Amavi, Rongier (Isimat-Mirin 64), Kamara, Cuisance (Gueye 85), Thauvin (Payet 78), Radonjic (Benedetto 78).

Subs: Ngapandouetnbu, Strootman, Sanson, Benedetto, Payet, Luis Henrique, Pele, Gueye, Ake, Nagatomo, Germain. 

Booked: Caleta-Car, Amavi

MANCHESTER CITY: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte (Stones 77), Zinchenko (Cancelo 68), De Bruyne (Palmer 82), Rodri, Gundogan (Silva 78), Foden, Sterling, Torres (Mahrez 77).

Subs: Stones, Steffen, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Carson, Garcia, Nmecha, Doyle, Harwood-Bellis, Palmer, Bernabe.

Goalscorers: F Torres 18, Gundogan 76, Sterling 81

Booked: Laporte

Referee: Tobias Stieler 

Of course, that allowed Manchester City more space and as Pep Guardiola had crazily opted to deploy his most creative talents, they took advantage. A second went in after 78 minutes, then a third after 81. 

Had another seven followed it might have encapsulated the gulf between these teams in terms of ambition, even more than talent. We will never know the game Marseille might have given Manchester City, because they were not allowed to play it. 

Villas-Boas appeared to be battling another Manchester City. One that hadn’t been beaten 5-2 at home by Leicester and made a stuttering start to the season; or hadn’t lost to Lyon just months ago at the Champions League knockout stage. 

City are a fine team, and looked it here, but they were allowed to be at their best, dominating all facets of the game, passing, passing, passing the opposition to oblivion.

Why Marseille set up like this, heaven knows. The last time they were in the Champions League group stage, in 2013-14, they lost all six games. They are on their way to a repeat of that here. 

Rewinding to the later stages of the 2011-12 edition, this is now 11 straight Champions League defeats. One would have imagined a coach would have demonstrated ambitions to break this run in his first match at home.

It is an irony that had Payet actually stayed at West Ham he might have been given the chance to start a game against Manchester City this year. Once his name was not among the starting XI the game proceeded much as one might expect. 

Andre Villas-Boas' Ligue 1 side were hardly in the game and posed little threat to the Premier League outfit on the night

Andre Villas-Boas’ Ligue 1 side were hardly in the game and posed little threat to the Premier League outfit on the night 

Midfielder Phil Foden attempts to build on an impressive outing at West Ham by showing his quality against the French side

Midfielder Phil Foden attempts to build on an impressive outing at West Ham by showing his quality against the French side

Man City defender Aymeric Laporte puts in a strong challenge on Marseille's Leonardo Balerdi as City try to keep their lead

Man City defender Aymeric Laporte puts in a strong challenge on Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi as City try to keep their lead

Kevin De Bruyne goes into a duel with former Aston Villa left-back Jordan Amavi in the Champions League group-stage clash

Kevin De Bruyne goes into a duel with former Aston Villa left-back Jordan Amavi in the Champions League group-stage clash 

Attack versus defence. One team with 11 behind the ball, the other relentlessly probing and passing, dominating possession, the tempo and the game. Marseille were as desperately disappointing as Paris St Germain had been against another Manchester side seven days previously. 

We thought PSG were going to be a match for Manchester United and were desperately let down; we expected Marseille to show at least a little ticker at home and were equally underwhelmed. 

The team sheet suggested Villas-Boas’s caution and the action confirmed it. Marseille had one shot of note across the 90 minutes, from Florian Thauvin, and it says much about Ederson’s lack of involvement that he almost spilled it and the ball grazed a post.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end, Marseille stuck solidly to their duty, but occasionally panic set in when the strain of it all showed. Such an event led to the opening goal after 18 minutes.

Amidst some frantic mopping up, Valentin Rongier attempted a pass out to the full-back position. It was poorly targeted and fell instead to Kevin De Bruyne. Could there have been a worse opponent to advantage? 

The answer came swiftly as De Bruyne responded by whipping in pass which Ferran Torres, appointed false nine for the night in the absence of several strikers, tapped past goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. 

It was his second goal of this Champions League campaign, in his second European appearance. The last Manchester City player to score in his first two games in this tournament was Mario Balotelli. Torres resisted the temptation to ask the obvious question.

Why always him? Perhaps because the way Marseille were set up anyone in Manchester City’s front-line was likely to see plenty of the ball around goal. De Bruyne had a volley deflected over on two minutes. From the resulting corner, Ruben Dias steered a header close. 

England international Raheem Sterling proved to be a menace for Marseille defenders in the first half with his quick feet

England international Raheem Sterling proved to be a menace for Marseille defenders in the first half with his quick feet 

The first half was a dominant one for the Sky Blues with midfielder Rodri helping to dictate things in the middle of the park

The first half was a dominant one for the Sky Blues with midfielder Rodri helping to dictate things in the middle of the park

The returning Kevin De Bruyne looks to build some momentum for Manchester City in midfield early in the game at Marseille

The returning Kevin De Bruyne looks to build some momentum for Manchester City in midfield early in the game at Marseille

Marseille defender Hiroki Sakai tries to thwart the marauding Oleksandr Zinchenko as the home side aim to stop City's rhythm

Marseille defender Hiroki Sakai tries to thwart the marauding Oleksandr Zinchenko as the home side aim to stop City’s rhythm

The pressure was relentless but it was hard to get near to goal through the massed ranks of white shirts. ‘Rapido, rapido,’ ordered Pep Guardiola, an instruction that needs little translation. In their defence, his players were going as rapido as they could. In the 14th minute, Phil Foden forced a save, and approaching half-time a terrible piece of control from Leonardo Belardi allowed Torres to set up Oleksandr Zinchenko, whose shot travelled just wide of the far post.

It is to Marseille’s credit, then, that City were made to wait until minute 76 to feel wholly safe. Foden dropped a shoulder and sped down the left. He struck a deep cross which Raheem Sterling headed back across goal; and there was Ilkay Gundogan to confirm the outcome. Immediately, the game now lost, Villas-Boas brought Payet on. It was a pathetic show.

Delightful, then, that Manchester City should underline the truth of this 90 minutes with a third. Riyad Mahrez slipped the ball to De Bruyne, whose cross picked out Sterling for a tap-in. It looked easy. By then, it was. Getting there, however, required admirable effort. 

It is not straightforward, hacking a way through 11 white shirts, sitting deep and primed only to frustrate. Maybe Villas-Boas thought City would run out of legs. Marseille needed to keep a clean sheet for longer than 18 minutes, then. Ultimately, chasing, chasing without the ball, it was his team that looked exhausted. 

Villas-Boas may take pride in that, the diligence of his team. It can hardly be called a fruitful strategy, however, when such a negative approach still yields a 3-0 defeat to a team without strikers. It is encounters like this that make some think the Champions League needs reform. 

The problem is, most of the proposals involve setting up even more matches of this nature – but that’s an argument for another day.

Still, the best team won, the dull team lost, so all ended happily. But it was a match only partisan observers could love. City were pushing 70 per cent possession for much of it and while sometimes such a statistic can be misleading, in this case it seemed to do Guardiola’s men a disservice. 

One map of player positions, taken after 30 minutes, showed City’s deepest outfield player to be Aymeric Laporte, his average position being the halfway line. Every Marseille player took up an average berth in their own half. It was a training exercise masquerading as an elite competition. Sheffield United will give City more of a game on Saturday morning, do not doubt it.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola stands alongside ex-Chelsea and Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas as he barks instructions

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola stands alongside ex-Chelsea and Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas as he barks instructions

source: dailymail.co.uk