Manchester City put Sporting Lisbon to the sword in a ruthless performance in the Portuguese capital on Tuesday evening.
Bernardo Silva, roundly booed by the home support having started his career with Benfica, was the standout performer in a 5-0 win over the Primeira Liga champions.
While Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring by tapping in a parried Kevin De Bruyne shot which passed a lengthy VAR check, it was Silva who took the game into his own hands.
Just as the home side were stringing some passes together, the former Benfica midfielder struck a wonderful volley to put the Premier League leaders in control.
In a staple of the City playbook, Mahrez then teed up Phil Foden from the byline before Raheem Sterling did the same for Silva to give the visitors a comfortable lead before the interval.
Not a team to sit back and defend what they have, Sterling then curled in the 150th goal of his club career with a stunning 25-yard effort. Even before that, Silva might have had his hat-trick when he nodded home a delightful De Bruyne pass from close range, although that was ruled out after an offside check.
The fourteenth time City have scored four or more times this season and the third time they’ve hit five, this was yet another statement performance.
