Manchester City vs. Viktoria Plzen: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Manchester City saw off a determined Viktoria Plzen side on Wednesday, winning 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in the penultimate matchday of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage campaign.

Already assured of a place in the Round of 16, City nevertheless rose to the occasion at home and once again filled the net in front of their supporters, with goals from Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko.

Plzen answered with strikes from Tomas Horava and Stanislav Tecl, but in the end they found themselves in a firepower battle they were never going to win.

Still, they started brightly and in the 20th minute defenders Martin Demichelis and Joleon Lescott had to be sharp to close down Tecl after the forward was played through by Pavel Horvath.

Frantisek Rajtoral then had a glorious chance to open the scoring, but after scampering through Fernandinho and Aleksandar Kolarov, his shot to the far corner missed its target by mere inches.

Five minutes later the hosts were in front and suddenly Rajtoral turned villain after handling the ball inside the area. Aguero stepped up to do the honours and sent goalkeeper Matus Kozacik the wrong way as City took the lead.

But just two minutes before the break, Plzen were level—Tomas Horava accepting Daniel Kolar’s accurate pass before smashing the ball past City 'keeper Joe Hart with a single touch.

It was the least they deserved.

Depth, however, would prove the difference for City on this night, and after the restart all three of manager Manuel Pellegrini’s substitutions—Jesus Navas, Negredo and Yaya Toure—played a part in a trio of goals.

First it was Nasri restoring the hosts’ lead after Toure dished to Navas, who crossed into the box for the Frenchman to head past Kozacik.

Then, after Tecl’s reply in the 69th minute, Negredo responded with what proved to be the winner after tucking Navas’ cross into the back of the net at the far post.

Dzeko, who looked to have been snake-bitten much of the night, rounded things off with just a minute of normal time remaining when he rose above his marker to head in James Milner’s ball from the left.

Key Player Grades

Sergio Aguero: A

The Argentina forward was substituted at the break with an apparent injury, but before his exit he made his presence felt—opening the scoring from the spot after a rather dodgy penalty decision went against Rajtoral.

Samir Nasri: A

The change under Pellegrini has been immense. Once again Nasri was a difference-maker and even though he came off the field with 15 minutes remaining, he found the time to touch the ball 62 times, complete 93 per cent of his passes and score a goal. (Statistics courtesy WhoScored.com)

Daniel Kolar: A-

The 28-year-old didn’t get his name on the scoresheet, but he assisted on both Plzen goals—first dishing to Horava for the opener and laying off the ball to Tecl inside the area for a temporary equalizer.

Substitutions
Player	Grade
Hart	B+
Richards	B+
Demichelis	B
Lescott	B-
Kolarov	B+
Milner	B+
Fernandinho	B+
Javi Garcia	B+
Nasri	A
Dzeko	B+
Aguero	A
Navas	A
Toure	A-
Negredo	A

Substitutions
Player	Grades
Kozacik	C+
Rajtoral	B
Prochazka	B-
Cisovsky	C+
Limbersky	C+
Horava	B
Horvath	B
Petrzela	B-
Kolar	A-
Duris	C+
Tecl	A-
Wagner	C
Bakos	C
Kovarik	C

What’s Next?

Already through to the knockout stages, Manchester City will face Bayern Munich at Allianz-Arena on December 10. That same evening Viktoria Plzen will look for a massive win at home to CSKA Moscow in hopes of progressing to the Europa League.