Manchester City eventually see off ten-man Napoli
Manchester City 2 - 0 Napoli
Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals as City were forced to dig deep in their victory over Napoli.
Author | Macca
Stadium | Etihad Stadium
Haaland needed just 49 games to reach the milestone, nodding in a second-half header to put City on course for three points. Doku scored City's 2nd after 65 minutes to give them the perfect start.
The 2023 Champions League winners played most of the match against ten men after Giovanni di Lorenzo was sent off.
A closer look at what happened
City dominated possession as anticipated but Pep Guardiola will have been frustrated that his side were not ahead at the interval, despite a barrage of efforts that met an inspired Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the Napoli goal.
The Serbian produced a series of outstanding saves, denying Tijjani Reijnders with a sharp stop, blocking Phil Foden’s low effort and turning away a fierce volley from Rodri. He also clawed out headers from Nico O’Reilly and Ruben Dias, before somehow gathering Reijnders’ deflected strike on the line after it brushed Matteo Politano.
The breakthrough finally arrived 11 minutes after the restart when Haaland met Foden’s delicate pass with a well-placed header to beat Milinkovic-Savic at last. Jeremy Doku then added a second with a swift piece of footwork to seal the win, leaving former Manchester United pair Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund to endure a disappointing return to the city.
De Bruyne’s return cut short
Kevin De Bruyne’s much-anticipated return to the Etihad lasted only 26 minutes. The midfielder, who departed City in the summer after a decade of service, was warmly received by home supporters but his reunion with a place he still calls “home” proved brief. Antonio Conte chose to withdraw the Belgium international in the first half after captain Giovanni di Lorenzo was dismissed.
