Erling Haaland took his Champions League goal tally to 39 in 34 games as Manchester City cruised into the last 16 with two games to spare by barely breaking sweat againstYoung Boys.
The Norwegian striker shrugged off the ankle injury that forced him off at half-time in Saturday's hammering of Bournemouth to clinically convert a 23rd-minute penalty after Sandro Lauper had fouled Matheus Nunes.
He then smashed home a second from the edge of the area six minutes after the restart, shortly before Lauper was sent off for a second booking following a foul on Nathan Ake.
In a bizarre exchange, Haaland had already handed his shirt over to Young Boys skipper Mohamed Ali Camara at the break when the Guinean asked for it as the players made their way to the tunnel.
How did you rate Manchester City's performance? Have your say hereReaction to Manchester City's victory over Young Boys and all of Tuesday's Champions League actionGo straight to our Champions League homepageBy that point Phil Foden had added a second, finding the net after ollecting Jack Grealish's superb curling pass to the side of the penalty area and skipping past Ulisses Garcia.
The result sends City into the knockout phase for an impressive 11th consecutive season, and also means they have set a new record of 18 matches unbeaten in Europe for an English club.
The win also extended their run of home victories in all competitions in 2023 to 23 games, one short of the English record, set by Sunderland across 1891 and 1892.
Rivals Liverpool are the next visitors to this stadium, in the Premier League on 25 November. That game will almost certainly be far more competitive than this one was.
Haaland closes in on Champions League record
As for City, they march on, knowing far greater tests lie ahead as they look to emulate their historic Treble success. On this form they will be confident enough of beating anyone.
After an unscheduled early exit at the weekend, Haaland's selectionin the starting line-up was a surprise, even though Guardiola had said on the eve of the game that he would have no problem picking the Norwegian if the City medical staff declared him fit.
The determination with which Haaland tore into the Young Boys defence from the first whistle was impressive.
Visiting keeper Anthony Racioppi denied the 23-year-old in the opening stages when he tried to turn home a low shot from an acute angle.
There was never a doubt he would score with the penalty, which he drove home with the assuredness of aplayer oozing self-confidence.
Even Guardiola celebrated his impressive second, and while the City manager subbed off his start striker soon afterwards, Haaland now needs just one more goal in any of his next 10 Champions League outings to surpass Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring 40 in just 45 appearances.
Not that absolutely everything went right for Haaland, though. When skipper Kyle Walker, only playing because Manuel Akanji was injured in the warm-up, sent a low cross to the far post, Haaland couldn't get his feet in the right position to convert was seemed a relatively simple chance.
Guardiola evidently thought so as he dropped his head in disappointment.
Young Boys' colourful fans light up drab evening for Swiss side
The visiting supporters were entertaining despite Young Boys' poor performanceBy far the most entertaining aspect of this game, from a Young Boys perspective at least, was the atmosphere created by their supporters.
The fans in the lower two tiers choreographed their entrance just before kick-off, so those in the higher section came in first, all wearing what appeared to be matching yellow ponchos. Then came those in the lower tier, wearing black, to match their team's colours.
Part way through the opening period, they all turned their back on the game, before taking the ponchos off and twirling them round their heads. Those on the top followed that by throwing them down on those below.
The display was colourful and inventive, which is more than could be said for their team.
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Manchester City
Squad number31Player nameEderson
Squad number2Player nameWalker
Squad number24Player nameGvardiol
Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias
Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes
Squad number82Player nameLewis
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number5Player nameStones
Squad number10Player nameGrealish
Squad number47Player nameFoden
Squad number9Player nameHaaland
Squad number4Player namePhillips
Squad number6Player nameAké
Squad number11Player nameDoku
Squad number52Player nameBobb
Young Boys
Squad number1Player nameRacioppi
Squad number17Player nameJanko
Squad number4Player nameAmenda
Squad number13Player nameCamara
Squad number23Player nameBenito
Squad number21Player nameGarcia
Squad number15Player nameElia
Squad number20Player nameNiasse
Squad number30Player nameLauper
Squad number7Player nameUgrinic
Squad number9Player nameItten
Squad number14Player nameChaiwa
Squad number19Player namePersson
Squad number27Player nameBlum
Squad number35Player nameGanvoula
Squad number39Player nameMales
Line-ups
Man City
Formation 3-2-4-1
31Ederson2WalkerSubstituted forPhillipsat 61'minutes24Gvardiol3Rúben Dias27Nunes82Lewis8KovacicSubstituted forDokuat 80'minutes5StonesSubstituted forAkéat 45'minutes10Grealish47Foden9HaalandSubstituted forBobbat 61'minutesSubstitutes
4Phillips6Aké11Doku16Rodri18Ortega19Álvarez20Bernardo Silva25Akanji33Carson52BobbYoung Boys
Formation 5-4-1
1Racioppi17JankoSubstituted forBlumat 66'minutes4AmendaBooked at 77mins13Camara23BenitoBooked at 15mins21GarciaSubstituted forPerssonat 78'minutes15EliaSubstituted forGanvoulaat 78'minutes20Niasse30LauperBooked at 53mins7UgrinicSubstituted forMalesat 88'minutes9IttenSubstituted forChaiwaat 65'minutesSubstitutes
11Colley14Chaiwa18Nsame19Persson22Rrudhani26von Ballmoos27Blum28Lustenberger35Ganvoula39Males40Marzino77Almada MonteiroLive Text
Match ends, Manchester City 3, Young Boys 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester City 3, Young Boys 0.
Attempt blocked. Phil Foden (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
Attempt missed. Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Cheikh Niasse.
Substitution, Young Boys. Darian Males replaces Filip Ugrinic.
Offside, Manchester City. Matheus Nunes tries a through ball, but Oscar Bobb is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
Attempt saved. Jérémy Doku (Manchester City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
Attempt missed. Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Grealish following a fast break.
Attempt missed. Jack Grealish (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jérémy Doku following a fast break.
Attempt missed. Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Oscar Bobb with a cross following a corner.
Substitution, Manchester City. Jérémy Doku replaces Mateo Kovacic.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Mohamed Ali Camara.
Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Cheikh Niasse (Young Boys).
Substitution, Young Boys. Silvere Ganvoula replaces Meschack Elia.
Substitution, Young Boys. Noah Persson replaces Ulisses Garcia.
Aurèle Amenda (Young Boys) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jack Grealish (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.