Pep Guardiola's side stayed unbeaten in the league phase with their victory at Estadio de la Ceramica, secured by first half goals from Haaland and then Bernardo Silva.

Norwegian target man Haaland has now found the net in each of his last 12 games for club and country, racking up 22 goals in those fixtures.

Guardiola rested Phil Foden among four changes to his starting line-up from the win against Everton at the weekend, as City ended a year-long winless run on the road in Europe.

"(Haaland is) amazing... he's impossible to defend, he's such a hard worker and never stops wanting to score," City's Rico Lewis told TNT Sports.

"We felt in control for most of the game. There's always better things we can do... there were a few spells that they had that we could have prevented, but we have to be harsh on ourselves (if) we want to win the competition."

Haaland headed a Silva cross wide early on as City took control of the game and began to find gaps in Villarreal's defence, with Savinho looking bright.

Lewis helped create the opener for Haaland after 17 minutes, cutting the ball back at the end of a neat move for the striker to blast home from six yards out.

Spanish side Villarreal, third in La Liga, began to etch a foothold in the game but City managed to grab their second before half-time to kill their momentum.

Savinho crossed for the unmarked Silva to nod past Brazilian stopper Luiz Junior to effectively seal the game.

City lost midfielder Nico Gonzalez to an injury before the hour mark in one of the few negatives of the night for the visitors, particularly with key midfielder Rodri Hernandez also sidelined.

The English side cruised through the second half until the final 20 minutes when Villarreal began to threaten.

City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a good save from Nicolas Pepe's drive, and then the Ivorian forward headed wide.

Pepe also volleyed over as City were able to shut out the hosts.

- 'A good sign' -

At the other end, Haaland's fierce strike was well fielded by Luiz Junior.

The goalkeeper made another superb save to frustrate the 25-year-old Norwegian and restrict him to just the one goal, which of late is no mean feat.

With five minutes remaining, Guardiola brought on Omar Marmoush for his first appearance for the club since August after a knee injury.

Villarreal came closest to scoring in the final stages when Renato Veiga's header left Donnarumma rooted to the spot but hit the post and bounced out.

Marcelino Garcia Toral's side are without a win in Europe this season, with just one point from their first three matches.

"I see that things are looking good, we are playing a little bit better day after day and that's a good sign," Guardiola told reporters, pleased with how his team is shaping up.