Erling Haaland scored the winner with 12 minutes remaining as Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in a thrilling Champions League match. Haaland tapped in from Elliot Anderson’s low cross, giving him his 13th goal in nine appearances against the Bundesliga side, his most against any opponent in his career. The win returned City to winning ways after their defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
City made hard work of the tie, leading twice. They were handed a first-half opener when Castello Lukeba turned the ball into his own net in the 37th minute, after Leipzig had been on top, with Christoph Baumgartner and Antonio Nusa both going close.
The match burst into life early in the second half. Gianluigi Donnarumma made a fine save to deny Baumgartner, but seconds later the City goalkeeper was beaten at his near post. Ridle Baku finished smartly from a tight angle in the 49th minute, tucking the ball in when everyone expected a low cross into the middle.
Haaland, who had only three touches in the first half, was denied by a save with his first chance after the restart. City regained the lead in the 58th minute when Enzo Fernández arrived in the box to power a header home from Iliman Ndiaye‘s perfect cross. Leipzig responded within three minutes. Nusa fired low across Donnarumma into the bottom right corner from inside the box in the 61st minute.
City Respond Through Haaland
City played their best football after that, helped by the introduction of Jeremy Doku. Anderson set up Haaland, who could not miss from close range. Leipzig’s David Raum and City’s Rayan Cherki both rattled the woodwork in a frantic finale, but the visitors held on to move up to seventh in the league phase table.
Donnarumma Under Scrutiny
Manchester City may have escaped Leipzig with three points, but Donnarumma did little to convince that he is the reliable last line of defence. He was directly culpable for Leipzig’s opening goal, getting into a muddle when the situation demanded composure from a cross from the right. His handling looked uncertain on several occasions, and his decision-making invited pressure rather than easing it. Raum nearly punished another moment of indecision when his free kick rattled the crossbar.
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Haaland called on his side to “step up”. “I think it is the most I have scored against a club,” he said. “I have played so many times against them in the Champions League with City and Borussia Dortmund too. Leipzig is a good team so I am happy.”
On Anderson, Haaland said: “He has had an amazing start to his City career and that is what you expect. You have to come straight in and perform. It is not easy to come in, you need to adapt and new players and a new coach, so he has been impressive. Respect.”
Haaland was also frank about City’s performance. “Not sure how many touches I had today, not the most but what is the most important is that I managed to help the team to win. I think we need to step up a bit. When we were 1-0 up I think we needed to go at it, go for the second goal and then the third – that’s what we have to do. We have to work on that.”
City manager Maresca admitted it was a tough game at times. “We controlled quite well but some moments we struggled. Champions League, Germany away, it’s tough so happy with the three points. They are well organised, they were aggressive and dangerous with the wingers. We needed to be careful on transition. Happy with the three points and now we recover and move on.”