man-city-marseille.jpg

Manchester City have seized control of Champions League Group C after Tuesday's routine 3-0 win away at Olympique de Marseille, who have now lost on their last 11 continental appearances.

Ferran Torres opened the scoring after 18 minutes when a Valentin Rongier mistake allowed Kevin De Bruyne to tee up the Spaniard for his second goal from as many Champions League outings.

Torres is only the second City player to score in each of his first two European appearances since Mario Balotelli in 2011.

Oleksandr Zinchenko shaved the post as Pep Guardiola's men searched for a second goal at Stade Velodrome but they had to wait until the 76th minute for the clinching strike to arrive.

Ilkay Gundogan was able to force the ball home from a Raheem Sterling assist for his second goal from as many Champions League games to kill any Marseille hopes of a comeback.

In the absences of Dimitri Payet and Dario Benedetto from the start, Florian Thauvin had threatened to pull the hosts level but found Ederson equal to his effort as Andre Villas-Boas' men grew in solidity.

Sterling went from maker to taker just five minutes later as De Bruyne notched his second assist and the England international his first in this season's edition.

It was no less than City deserved for their mastery of the encounter and next week's home clash with Olympiacos presents a good opportunity to claim nine points from a possible nine.

For Marseille, Villas-Boas' men need a good result away at Porto to save their Champions League dream after the Portuguese outfit beat Olympiacos in Tuesday's other Group C encounter.

Craving even more coverage of the world's game? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.  

The first half was a particularly sobering experience for OM with just 32% of possession and a single shot to show for their efforts.

Guardiola, who struggles more against French opponents in Europe than any other, rarely saw his team in difficulty at the Velodrome -- even if they were not at their absolute best.

Key men:

Both De Bruyne and Sterling contributed to multiple goals on the night, while Torres and Gundogan added to their contributions against Porto, yet Phil Foden was a regular threat and went close to scoring early on.

Looking ahead:

City can take another step towards the latter stages against Olympiacos while Marseille need a positive result away at Porto to harbour any realistic aims of advancing.