By Lori Ewing
October 26, 20238:34 AM GMT+7
Oct 25 (Reuters) - Erling Haaland ended his goal drought with a second-half brace while Manuel Akanji scored on his return to his homeland as reigning champions Manchester City all but secured their spot in the Champions League knockout stage with a 3-1 win over Swiss side Young Boys on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola's side maintained their 100% winning record in Group G with three victories, despite their pre-game concerns about playing on the slick artificial turf at rain-lashed Wankdorf Stadium.
"It was an exceptional game," Guardiola told TNT Sports. I'm just really, really pleased for the way we played; we need one more game to qualify mathematically and then two more to finish first."
City can clinch their spot in the knockout stage when they play Young Boys again, this time at home, on Nov. 7.
Haaland scored for the first time in six Champions League games with a penalty in the 67th minute after Mohamed Camara's tackle on Rodri in the box.
City's goal-scoring machine added a fabulous second goal when he moved the ball from his left foot to his right before firing it into the top corner in the 86th.
Haaland, who rewrote several scoring records last season, added another one on Wednesday, breaking Kylian Mbappe's mark as the youngest player to score 37 Champions League goals. The Norwegian striker, who is 23 years and 96 days, did it in 33 games.
Source: Reuters.
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