Six and counting for City slickers

simply kicked the ground and fell over as he prepared to shoot.

Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai, who was barracked by the Shakhtar bench as he left the field at half-time, saw differently, clearly deeming that Mykola Matviyenko had made contact with the City forward despite clear daylight between the two.

With City’s bench trying to contain their smiles, Jesus made no mistake from 12 yards.

Three minutes into the second half, City extended their lead and this time they needed no help from the man in yellow.

Bursting on to a ball from Oleksandr Zinchenko and breaking the twin challenge of Maycon and Matviyenko, Sterling raced to the edge of the area before curling a fierce shot home.

Sterling’s seventh strike of the season and his first in the Champions League pretty much punctured any hope Shakhtar had remaining and from there to the end City coasted.

The visitors will carry no particular fondness of this clash back to Ukraine.

This was the same referee who failed to spot a shot from Marko Devic against England in Euro 2012 that had crossed the line before John Terry cleared the ball. If that had the nation up in arms, this time there was just resignation.

After 71 minutes, Kassai was pointing to the spot again after David Silva was felled by Taras Stepanenko, this time the decision greeted without argument and Jesus burying his second.

City’s next task will be Manchester United on Sunday and in this sort of form they may need no

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helping hand. Mahrez added a fifth, controlling a long crossfield pass on the right edge of the box and crashing a left-foot shot inside Pyatov’s near post.

And Jesus made sure he took the match ball home with him when chipping the Shakhtar keeper from 35 yards out.

MAN CITY (4-3-3): Goals: SHAKHTAR DONETSK (4-2-3-1):