Sterling will win gold says legend Xavi
time he kept a calm head, laid it for Gundogan, and he measured a shot that twanged off a post.
Luckily for City, it fell straight to the marauding Mahrez for a simple finish.
That sparked Shakhtar into life and Ederson was forced into a sharp, pointblank save from striker Junior Moraes, through one-on-one.
It clearly needed another goal or two, and when City clicked into gear, they were sweeping the ball from left to right with such pace and precision that Shakhtar were falling apart under the strain. One such move ended with Mahrez, who cut inside from his rightwing station and jabbed a lovely pass into the measured run of Gundogan. His finish was never in doubt.
City could afford to draw Shakhtar on to them in the second half, and break dangerously.
When they got a three-on-one with 15 minutes left, it was game over.
De Bruyne had misfired for most of the night, but this time he slipped Gabriel Jesus in, and the Brazil striker stroked his shot past Andriy Piyatov with opener for City while, below left, Ilkay Gundogan adds a second nonchalant ease. The third goal allowed Guardiola to give ten minutes to Benjamin Mendy – his first action sine April – and to Joao Cancelo.
The win gives City the perfect start to the campaign, unlike last season when they showed frailties to lose at home to Lyon – weaknesses which dogged them throughout the European campaign.
Now they are on the front foot, and the aim will be to tie-up qualification as soon as possible and allow further rotation in the group games just as December kicks in. XAVI has tipped City star Raheem Sterling to become the next best player in the world after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair have dominated the game for over a decade, winning a huge number of trophies and personal accolades as well as beating records that didn’t even seem conceivable.
They picked up 10 Ballon d’Or awards between them in a row before Luka Modric broke the duopoly in 2018 and became the first player to win it who wasn’t Ronaldo or Messi since Kaka in 2007.
Yet with both now well in to their 30s, there will eventually come a time when they hang up their boots and leave the game behind, and Xavi believes Sterling is the man who will take their place.
The forward has improved over the last two years, netting 54 goals in his last 103 appearances for City, and has become a vital cog for both his club and his country.
The 24-year-old has matured into a worldclass player under Pep Guardiola and Xavi explains how his former coach will have improved Sterling.
“Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the best player in the world awards for so many years now, it’s hard to remember a time before them,” the Barcelona and Spain legend said.
“Messi is the best ever for me - and even though they’re both still playing at a very high level - there will come the day not so long away when somebody else must step into those shoes.
“You look at young players who can be crowned the future best in the world and you still think of Neymar, Mbappe, Salah, and of course Sterling.
“I look at the moment - and Sterling is winning that race.
“He’s always been a good player, a dangerous player, but under Pep he become one of the best in the world.
“I know how Pep works - he would have worked closely with him since his arrival - where he needs to improve and what he needed to work on.
“We’re now seeing the results of that - he’s still young and can be the world’s best.”