Manchester City 2-0 Napoli: Erling Haaland’s record-breaking finish guides City to victory | OneFootball

Manchester City beat ten-man Napoli 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening, as their persistence paid off.

Erling Haaland’s record-breaking finish broke the deadlock before Jeremy Doku’s neat finish sealed the victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Following this result, the Italian champions have still never won away to an English side in a European competition in thirteen attempts.

As it happened

Pep Guardiola against Antonio Conte, two heavyweight and serial winners coming together. It was clear neither team wanted to show any weakness in the early exchanges, and patience was vital for both teams.

City created their first opportunity through Tijjani Reijnders when he released a powerful strike from outside the area. The shot stung the palms of Vanja Milinković-Savić.

Sam Beukema’s header provided a rare chance for the visitors and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a low save, before the game took a sharp turn.

The Etihad erupted in the 18th minute when Giovanni Di Lorenzo hacked down Erling Haaland. Due to the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, Antonio Conte’s side were reduced to ten men in the 21st minute.

Kevin De Bruyne’s homecoming was cut short in the 25th minute when Mathias Olivera replaced the Belgian international. A player immensely loved by Manchester City fans received the reception he deserved when he exited the pitch. An opportunity to prove his worth was stripped away after we saw snippets of the De Bruyne we once knew.

Reijnders provided an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Haaland, and for a man of his standards, he should have found the back of the net, but his effort narrowly cleared the crossbar.

The hosts were in complete control, and Milinković-Savić had to make two very important saves to deny Nico O’Reilly and Ruben Dias in a short space of time. The Italian champions were holding onto a thread.

The deftest touch from Matteo Politano denied City’s opener and made it simple for Milinković-Savić to comfortably collect the ball. The defender celebrated like he had scored a goal.

City continued to suffocate Napoli at every opportunity with continuous attacking pressure. Phil Foden’s attempt flashed across the box, and it was a matter of time until Guardiola’s team took the advantage.

Ten minutes after the restart, inevitably, Haaland was the player to break the deadlock for the hosts.

Not only did it give City the lead, but it also added to the collection of records that the Norwegian has broken. 50 goals in 49 UEFA Champions League games, the fastest it’s taken a player to reach 50 goals in that time frame.

Talking of fast, Jeremy Doku’s lightning-quick feet helped him dance past four Napoli players, and his composed finish into the bottom corner doubled City’s advantage.

The hosts remained in full control, and the second goal gave them a cushion. It took a while for them to find the goal they needed, but once they had it, Guardiola’s team never looked like giving anything away.

The lineups

MCI: Donnarumma, Dias, Reijnders, Haaland, Doku, Rodri, Silva, Gvardiol, O’Rielly, Khusanov, Foden.

NAP: Milinković-Savić, Buongiorno, McTominay, De Bruyne, Højlund, Politano, Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Spinazzola, Lobotka, Anguissa.