Manchester City booked their place in the top eight of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray, bringing the Turkish side’s three-match unbeaten run against English teams to an end.

Knowing that only a win would keep their hopes of a top-eight finish alive, Pep Guardiola’s side started on the front foot and made an early breakthrough through their usual source of goals.

Jérémy Doku was the architect, sliding a perfectly weighted pass through to Erling Haaland, who calmly lifted the ball over Uğurcan Çakır and into the net.

With goals flying in across Europe and qualification scenarios constantly shifting, City knew they could not afford to ease off. Nico O’Reilly underlined that urgency with a fierce effort that forced Çakır into a superb one-handed save.

It was not long before the hosts doubled their advantage, with Doku again at the heart of the move. The winger cut the ball back for Rayan Cherki, who took a touch to steady himself before firing emphatically past Çakır for City’s second.

At half-time, Galatasaray were in an uneasy position inside the top 24, and with the match slipping away from them, their qualification hopes increasingly depended on results elsewhere.

The visitors showed more fight after the restart, but with such a steep task ahead, overturning the deficit always looked unlikely.

Apart from a Gabriel Sara effort that was blocked, Galatasaray created little of note, while City focused on protecting their lead. Despite having done their part, Guardiola’s side remained anxious as scores from other matches filtered through.

Rayan Aït-Nouri nearly added a third when he was denied from close range by Çakır, but another goal proved unnecessary.

The final minutes were tense on the City bench as staff monitored developments across the continent. Relief followed when results confirmed their top-eight finish, allowing them to avoid the knockout play-off round that ended their campaign last season.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, managed to cling onto a place in the top 24 and will enter the play-offs as an unseeded side.