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Manchester City booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a fine 3-1 win over Sevilla on Tuesday night.

City needed an injury-time winner from Kevin De Bruyne to secure a 2-1 victory over the La Liga side in the reverse fixture last month, but were dominant from the outset at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The travelling supporters continued their frosty relationship with Uefa by again booing the Champions League anthem before kick-off, but they were roaring with delight soon afterwards as Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho put City 2-0 up inside 11 minutes.
Sevilla battled their way back into the contest as Benoit Tremoulinas headed home before Wilfried Bony added City's third nine minutes before half-time.
Juventus' second consecutive draw against Borussia Monchengladbach means Pellegrini's men will head to Turin on matchweek five as group leaders aiming to take another significant scalp heading into the knockout rounds.
The Chilean's decision to include Fernando in a holding role granted attacking license to Fernandinho and the midfielder was at the heart of much of City's fine work during a devastating opening spell.
Having had a penalty appeal rejected, the Brazil international strode forward and threaded a sublime pass for Sterling to slot home left-footed in the eighth minute.
Roles were reversed three minutes later - with Sterling pouncing on a slip from Sevilla full-back Coke to feed Bony, whose shot was magnificently saved by Sergio Rico before Fernandinho nodded in the rebound.
Rico's attempted heroics were almost in vain once again when he got down to tip a strike from former Sevilla winger Jesus Navas onto the base of his right post.
Fernando Llorente fired wastefully over on the end of Vicente Iborra's flick on, but Sevilla reduced the deficit after 25 minutes with a wonderful team goal.
Vitolo deftly picked out Coke, who atoned for his earlier error by skipping past Nicolas Otamendi and chipping a cross over Joe Hart for his fellow full-back Tremoulinas to charge in for a simple headed finish.
After Sevilla defender Adil Rami blasted into the side netted, City restored their two-goal cushion nine minutes before the break as Navas collected a Hart clearance to twist past Tremoulinas and cut the ball back for Bony to pick out the bottom corner.
Unai Emery's team began the second half on the front foot, seeking to respond once more, but they were indebted to sharp reactions from Rico to deny Fernandinho a second - Sterling crafting the opportunity with another mazy run in the 53rd minute.
Enjoying arguably his finest performance since joining City from Liverpool in a protracted close-season transfer, Sterling then had a strike blocked on the end of a Fernandinho pass that was delightfully dummied by Bony.
A one-two between Ivory Coast team-mates Bony and Yaya Toure saw the latter curl wide as the match entered the final 20 minutes, with Sevilla looking increasingly low on confidence.
The Europa League holders now trail second placed Juventus by five points and can't overtake City due to an inferior head-to-head record.
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Roberto Mancini believes former club Manchester City will take out the Premier League title this season.
Mancini was in charge of City between 2009 and 2013 and guided the club to their first league title in 44 years after hoisting the 2012 trophy. The Italian boss, who is now in the dugout at Inter in Serie A, feels City - top of the table by two points - are odds on to win a third title in four years.
"I think that we win the league - Manchester City will win the league," he told BBC's World Football programme.
The 50-year-old also won an FA Cup and League Cup in his time at the club.
"I was really proud about what I did in Manchester because we changed the situation there after many years," he said.
"Seven or eight years ago, they played for relegation or mid-table. In the last four or five years Manchester City is the best team in the Premier League."

Vincent Kompany may be dropped from Manchester City's starting XI despite being fit for Saturday's clash against Bournemouth, according to manager Manuel Pellegrini. Pellegrini is not happy with the City skipper after he played for Belgium in their Euro 2016 qualifier win over Israel on Tuesday.
The City boss said Kompany was advised not to play in order to continue his rehabilitation from a calf injury he sustained a month ago.
"I was not pleased because we sent Vincent with a medical report that he was not able to play but as the manager of Belgium says, he can do what he wants in the international break," Pellegrini said.
"He wanted to use the player and he used him. For me, if a player does not play the last three games for his club, they cannot play for their national squad but there are also rules.
"It is not my duty to do it and I think in some days, club will protest about that."
Pellegrini could not guarantee Kompany would play against Bournemouth, admitting the skipper may be dropped.
"There is not a problem with Vincent," he said. "I think that after one month without playing, it was important for Vincent to work for at least one week completely at high intensity.
"He couldn't do it because he played for Belgium, so he had to recover here Wednesday and Thursday.
"We will see in the future when he can return to his position."


Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini refused to blame the match officials for his side's 4-1 thrashing at Tottenham on Saturday.

Two of Spurs' goals - the first from Eric Dier and the third from Harry Kane - would not have stood had offside players been spotted by referee Mark Clattenburg's assistants but Pellegrini was more concerned by his side's defensive capitulation after they took the lead through Kevin De Bruyne.
The Argentine told BT Sport: "We didn't play very well in the first half against West Ham or in the second half here. I don't want to talk about the goals because it's a mistake; the referee can make it.
"We must continue working, to continue playing as we did in the first 45 minutes. We must play every game as a final in the future."
Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela also netted for the home side with the former coming from a free-kick, as did Kane's goal not long afterwards.
"In the second half it was two set-pieces - one decides the game - but after that they played very well," added Pellegrini.
"We defended some balls very badly. Two set-pieces, two goals."
Yaya Toure was taken off after 56 minutes and Pellegrini revealed that the Ivory Coast midfielder had been carrying an injury coming into the game.
"There was a problem with his hamstring, he couldn't train during the week."
Forty-one shots. One goal. It is fair to say that last season's standout strikers, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane, are struggling to find their feet in the new campaign. Both had gruelling summers with which to contend, both returned to pre-season late on, both have spurned numerous clear-cut chances. On Saturday at White Hart Lane, though, one will surely end their barren run.
It is likely to be Aguero, who has scored 10 goals in seven games against the north Londoners. There is no team in England against whom he has a better record, no team against whom he enjoys playing more. And his current malaise, if we are to call it that, is not for the want of trying. He is playing in the league's most vicious attack and, as such, no player has had more 'big' chances. But no player has missed more, either.
Saturday's match would, historically, offer a perfect chance to rediscover his scoring touch, yet Spurs have shown signs of increasing resolve. With Eric Dier protecting the defence and Toby Alderweireld bringing a new level of serenity to the back line, Spurs now boast the second-best defensive record in the division, behind only Manchester City themselves.
Kane, meanwhile, like Aguero, has yet to deliver. He has netted in an England shirt, an expert lob followed by a precision finish, but has been denied in all manner of ways when playing for Tottenham (he has hit the woodwork, had goals disallowed and shots cleared off the line). If he is to finally open his account, doing so against the league leaders would be a fine time
This will be a walk in the park for City, especially after their slip up against West Ham. Spurs' north London derby defeat will affect them, especially as they were looking for a winner when Mathieu Flamini banged in the second.
I can't think of a tougher game for them, and I see this as the game Sergio Aguero comes back to scoring ways in the league. The sign of champions is to bounce back quickly from defeat. City did that in midweek at Sunderland, and I see them doing that again this weekend in the league.
Heung-min Son looks a good buy for Spurs; he's energetic and good on the ball, two hugely important traits. But they'll need far more than that against Man City.
PREDICTS: 0-3

The Premier League leaders embarked on an unprecedented spending spree during the close season, bringing in six new players at a cost of just over £150 million.
The likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling have played an instrumental role in ensuring City have begun the new domestic campaign in scintillating form, winning seven of their first eight games in all competitions.
Despite that impressive start, the club’s director of football Tixi Begiristain is already drawing up a list of ambitious targets a year in advance. City maintain an interest in Pogba, having been prepared to break the world transfer record for his services last summer.
But with the France international understood to prefer a move to Barcelona, City have been keeping tabs on the Spain playmaker who they deem to be a far cheaper alternative. City dispatched scouts to run the rule over Tiago twice already this season and will continue to keep tabs on a player whose Bayern career has been regularly interrupted by a series of long-term injuries.
The 24-year-old, who snubbed a move to Manchester United two years ago, made only 13 appearances last season but has been a mainstay of the side which has won its last eight matches in all competitions.
Despite Manuel Pellegrini signing a new contract in the summer, reports linking Bayern manager Pep Guardiola with the manager’s role at the Etihad Stadium have continued to surface.
The former Barcelona boss’s contract with Bayern expires in the summer but Goal understands City will pursue Tiago regardless of whether their long-standing interest in Guardiola bears fruit.


The Argentine was brought off in the 25th minute against Crystal Palace following a heavy challenge from Scott Dann, while footage on social medial after the game showed the 27-year-old walking with a visible limp.

Aguero underwent initial tests on Sunday but requires further analysis on Monday.
The news is blow for City, who could also be without David Silva for their Champions League group-stage opener at home to Juventus on Tuesday evening. The Spaniard missed the match against Palace due to an ankle problem.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s injury-time strike sealed a 1-0 win for City at Selhurst Park on Saturday, which has kept Manuel Pellegrini’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League, and 11 ahead of champions Chelsea, who were beaten by Everton at Goodison Park.
Players in: Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia), Patrick Roberts (Fulham), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Enes Unal (Bursaspor), David Faupala (Lens)
Players out: Marcos Lopes (Monaco), Alvaro Negredo (Valencia), Karim Rekik (Marseille), Scott Sinclair (Aston Villa), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Edin Dzeko (Roma, Loan), James Milner (Liverpool, Free), Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan, Loan), Micah Richards (Aston Villa), Jordy Hiwula (Huddersfield Town), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo), Seko Fofana (Bastia, Loan), Angelino (New York City FC, Loan), Jason Denayer (Galatasaray, Loan), Devante Cole (Bradford, Free), Liam Grimshaw (Motherwell, Loan)
Verdict:
I like the signing of Fabian Delph, but I think Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are pathetically over-priced. They have spent £54.5m on De Bruyne - and he's a player they don't really need. That position wasn't on their hit-list and now someone like Samir Nasri isn't going to get a game, which is phenomenal for me. They have bought well, but I am going to give them a B- for the money they have had to pay.

Vincent Kompany believes that Kevin De Bruyne can be a “game-changer” for Manchester City after his fellow Belgian completed his protracted transfer to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.City are believed to have paid a fee upwards of £55 million to sign De Bruyne from Wolfsburg, a club-record, with the former Chelsea playmaker having won the Bundesliga Player of the Year award in 2014-15.
De Bruyne racked up 28 assists in all competitions last season, whilst also scoring 16 goals, and Kompany has expressed his delight at the signing.
“I don’t know the figures but all I can say is I suppose you shouldn’t focus on numbers too much any more,” he told reporters. “If a player can improve a squad that bit more, the value is very difficult to assess because there’s so much competition to get the top players. That dictates it really.
“He’s a tremendous talent. What he gives you – he’s just got so many assists and goals in him, it doesn’t really matter how the game goes for him, he’s always making decisive plays.
“Over the course of the season that’s ultimately what you pay for. More goals, more assists, he’s just got something special.”
Kompany accepts that there will be a certain degree of pressure attached to De Bruyne due to the price paid to acquire his signature, but he has little doubt that his compatriot will prove a success at City.
“You’ve all been there – you compare yourself at the age of 18 or 20 to when you grow up, you change as a person,” he added. “He’s become the best player in Germany and we all know what great players play in the German league, so that says enough, that’s enough pressure as it is.
“To achieve something like that is pretty unique. It’s a completely different style of football that we play and certain players are better fitted to certain clubs. That’s just the way it is.”
Kompany says that he did not need to advise City to sign De Bruyne, but has praised the quality the 24-year-old possesses.
“They have a very good network of scouts and people who give them good advice but my opinion was pretty clear – in private and publicly,” he added.
“He’s a player that I rate and other than that our team has had a tradition of welcoming many players over the years, so everything is going to be just like it was with Raheem and done in such a way that we’ll carry on from what we’ve been building so far. He’s the most English guy from the Belgian national team.
“If you go through his family line I think his grandfather lives in England, his mother is virtually English. He could have played for England if you’d spotted him earlier.”

One source has told us they have more than a passing interest, but following Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala's performance verses West Brom, it has been reduced to a "watching brief" and we're told there's been no bid.
However, Sky Sports' La Liga expert Guillem Ballague has been told that City did bid but not close to the £35m release clause.

The £49m summer signing from Liverpool is poised to make his home debut as champions Chelsea visit the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1.
Sterling spurned a good chance to score in City's first game of the season, Monday's 3-0 win at West Brom, but Pellegrini has no doubt his quality will soon show.
He said: "I think that he will be a very dangerous player. Maybe we were criticised for the amount we paid for him but I am sure he will demonstrate during the year, especially against the big teams, why he was valued so much."
Sterling excelled as Liverpool ran City close in the battle for the title in 2014. He flourished alongside the influential Luis Suarez and Pellegrini thinks City's creative players will similarly bring the best out of the 20-year-old.


He added: "It is always important for young players to play with good players who can improve them, the same way he did with Luis Suarez or (Steven) Gerrard for Liverpool.
"Here he will play David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, with players that will make him improve in a lot of ways. Young players always learn from important players. It is very important for them to play with him.
"I think last year he scored 11 in all competitions. I am sure this season he will improve."



Toure scored twice in the first half as City swept aside the Baggies 3-0 at the Hawthorns, with Vincent Kompany sealing a comfortable victory with an emphatic header after the break. Both Kompany and Toure were singled out for below-par performances last season as City allowed Chelsea to claim their first Premier League title since 2010 at a canter, but the Ivorian insists he was satisfied with his achievements.
“I think last season people are talking all the time,” he told reporters. “For me I’m quite surprised. Last season was not the best season for us, but second in the table I think is not bad at all.
“There’s been a lot of criticism about me but it’s not been a bad season. Twelve goals and I won the [Africa Cup of Nations] for my country; it’s not bad at all. I know what I want, I know what I have to do, I don’t care what people are saying about me.
“I’m not back – I’m always there. People have to understand football is not talking about one player, it’s about the team. The team did a massive job [against West Brom], we played very well, against a difficult side. West Brom have a good manager, good players and experience in the Premier League and the team played brilliantly. Full credit to the team.
“Sometimes people have to understand we are human beings. Things can go wrong [even] when you are fully focused in your job, you love your job and want to win all the time. My job is to make people happy and myself happy as well.
“Sometimes people criticise you unfairly. But we don’t care what they say. I love my job, I love playing football and I don’t worry about what people are saying about me.”
City's first home game of the season is against champions Chelsea, and Toure is adamant that Manuel Pellegrini's men are fully focused on regaining their title.
“Now we have a massive game on Sunday against a direct rival. I hope it will be a good one for us,” he added.
“The Premier League is very tough, there’s a very long way to go. There’s 37 more games. Sunday is going to be tough again, and after that we have Everton. I think it is a strong start.
"We are fully focused this year. We want to do it for the fans, for the chairman and [owner] Sheikh Mansour, who are doing a lot to make this club great.
“It was a great start. I hope this year is going to be fine for us. The important thing is we have a target. That is to bounce back like we did two seasons ago. We have to keep working hard.”
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Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini didn't give too much away when asked on the Monday Night Football about any new signings before the end of the transfer window.

"Well, we'll see. It's not easy," he said. "There are a lot of clubs with money to buy players and all the same clubs go for the same players. (These) players are in top clubs and nobody wants to sell them.
"We are trying to have a strong squad. We'll see at the end of August how strong we can be."
Manuel Pellegrini has signed a new contract at Manchester City, tying him to the club until 2017.
The Chilean coach joined City from Malaga in 2013 and has led them to glory in the Premier League and League Cup, though his side missed out on last season's title to Chelsea.City have been said to be exploring other options this summer and have been heavily linked to Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola, however, on the eve of the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign, they have confirmed that the coach will remain at the Etihad Stadium until June 2017.


"I am proud to manage Manchester City and am therefore very pleased to have agreed this contract," Pellegrini told the club's official website after committing his future to the club.
"I have a very good quality group of players and a great team of people to work with on and off the field and at all levels of the club.
"I am focussed on the coming season and confident that my team and I will respond to the constant support shown to us by everyone including of course our fantastic fans."
The club's chief executive, Ferran Soriano, was full of praise for the ex-Real Madrid boss.
"We are delighted to reach this agreement with Manuel Pellegrini who has already contributed so much to the development of Manchester City in his first two years with us and we look forward to further progress in the seasons ahead," he added.
"This agreement allows Manuel to focus on the challenge of guiding a team capable of both fighting  for domestic titles and competing for European honours."
Sterling completed his move from Liverpool to City last week for £49 million - making him the most expensive English player in history and the club's record signing.
And the 20-year-old, who could make his City debut in their International Champions Cup clash against Roma in Melbourne on Tuesday, is relishing the opportunity to challenge on all fronts in Manchester.
"It was about the direction they are going - in recent years they have come a long way," Sterling told reporters. "They just seem like they are progressing and looking to dominate in England and in Europe.
"[The] Champions League is always a good thing to be involved in. As a young player you want to be challenging yourself in the best competitions, against the best players and with the best players.
"It's a competition that gives me an opportunity to show my ability on the biggest platform.
"This team has great players - it's a really good squad but players like [Sergio] Aguero, [David] Silva and Yaya [Toure] can only improve you."
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Manchester City midfielder David Silva is happy the club have kept faith in manager Manuel Pellegrini.
City endured a trophyless season last term but Silva told Sky Sports News HQ he will benefit from Pellegrini staying on.
"He's been our coach for two years and he is a coach who likes to play attacking football so for the attacking players it is very good and we want to keep playing that way."

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Manchester City have signed Turkey international striker Enes Unal, 18, from Bursaspor.

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