Haaland gives Manchester City 3-2 victory at Leipzig

Manchester City won 3-2 away to Leipzig on Wednesday on matchday 4 of the Champions League. The decisive goal came from their captain Erling Haaland in the 78th minute, after a match where the Norwegian striker had been practically absent. He turned in a cross from Elliot Anderson all alone at the back post.

An own goal before the break

Enzo Maresca's players barely showed up in the first half in the cold weather, with temperatures hovering around 5 degrees. Yet they led at half-time, somewhat against the run of play. French defender Castello Lukeba turned the ball into his own net in the 37th minute from a cross by Nico O'Reilly, with no opponent behind him.

A dramatic second half

Leipzig came back out with better intentions. Antonio Nusa had a chance in the 46th minute, and then Christoph Baumgartner saw his curled shot tipped behind for a corner by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 47th. The Italian goalkeeper was then caught wrong-footed by Ridle Baku, who equalised in the 49th (1-1) by taking advantage of a left-open near post.

City regained the lead in the 58th minute. Iliman Ndiaye, played in down the left wing, found Enzo Fernández in the penalty area, and the Argentine beat Maarten Vandevoordt (2-1). Leipzig drew level again in the 61st: following a poorly cleared clearance after a surge forward by Brajan Gruda, Christopher Nkunku set up Nusa, who controlled and then shot (2-2).

After Haaland's goal, David Raum hit Donnarumma's crossbar from a free kick (81st). Rayan Cherki, for his part, struck Vandevoordt's woodwork in the 84th.

City's standings position

With nine points out of a possible twelve, the Citizens have bounced back from their 4-2 home defeat against Paris SG three weeks earlier. They find themselves in a group of nine teams, one point behind Arsenal (10) and three behind PSG and Real Madrid (12). These last two are the only ones to have won their first four matches of the group stage.