Manchester City were made to work hard before seeing off Shakhtar Donetsk at the Etihad.

The Ukrainian side gave as good as they go in the first half - much to the frustration of Pep Guardiola.

And it took a thunderous strike from Kevin de Bruyne to break the deadlock just minutes after the break.

The Belgian was left in acres of space just outside the box and he curled the ball home with his right foot.

The home side missed several chances to extend their lead - with Raheem Sterling at fault when he sliced wide in front of goal.

Sergio Aguero then missed a penalty - and the chance to equal the club's all-time scoring record - when his effort was saved.

Raheem Sterling celebrates his strike (
Image:
Reuters)
But Sergio Aguero missed a penalty (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

But Sterling did finally grab a second as City made it two wins from two.

Here are five talking points...

1. Manchester City fans still don't like UEFA and the Champions League

City supporters ‘took a knee’ as they again jeered the Champions League anthem to show their antipathy towards UEFA, which they feel has been biased against the club in recent years. The Etihad was also far from full and some fans felt this was a game they could miss.

That’s the wrong attitude and City fans should get over their opposition to UEFA. It comes across as petty and small-minded to boo the anthem still. They should embrace the competition - like the big club they think they are.

2. City’s squad still only has one left-back

City splashed out £128.5million on full-backs in the summer as part of their massive overhaul, but Benjamin Mendy’s knee injury left Pep Guardiola without a recognised senior left-back.

Fabian Delph slotted in at left-back (
Image:
Anadolu)

Guardiola admitted it would be a problem if Mendy were ruled out at his pre-match press conference and his solution was to ask Fabian Delph to slot in.

Delph was probably glad of the chance and did his best in the role, although he did not offer the attacking threat Mendy does.

3. Fernandinho holds City together

Fernandinho is City’s unsung hero, sacrificing himself for the team. He has the quality to play higher up the pitch, but happily plays the holding role to give the likes of de Bruyne and Silva licence to get forward.

He did it again and he shielded his defence, making a goal-saving tackle on Fred when City were under the cosh in the first half.

He was outstanding and gave City’s attacking talent the platform they needed with Shakhtar looking so impressive to make the breakthrough.

Fernandinho was outstanding (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)

4. Shakhtar Donetsk can play

Pep Guardiola had warned his players that Shakhtar were no mugs. He said they were tough adversaries each time he had come up against them with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

They proved difficult again and Paulo Fonseca’s side were as comfortable on the ball as City.

Fonseca had only lost five of his 60 games in charge before tonight - and it was easy to see why. Fernandinho needed to make a goal-saving challenge on Fred to stop them scoring, while Ederson also denied Marlos.

Shakhtar had their chances (
Image:
REX/Shutterstock)

5. Kevin de Bruyne deserves a new deal at City

City are keen to tie de Bruyne down to the Etihad on a long-term deal and it’s not hard to see why. He made the breakthrough against Shakhtar with a piece of individual brilliance.

He showed great anticipation to win the ball and launch City’s counter-attack. Then when he received the ball back from David Silva, he curled a lovely right-foot effort inside the post form 25 yards out, although questions must be asked of goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, who stood rooted to the spot.

Sign me up! (
Image:
REX/Shutterstock)
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