Erling Haaland slid in at the back post to turn Elliot Anderson's low cross home on 78 minutes, giving Manchester City a 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on a night when Enzo Maresca's side were second best for long spells and still left with all three points.
Match facts
- Result: RB Leipzig 2-3 Manchester City (half-time 0-1)
- Competition: UEFA Champions League, League Stage, Matchday 4
- Venue: Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
- Scorers: RB Leipzig - Baku 49', Nusa 61'; Manchester City - Lukeba 37' (og), Fernández 58', Haaland 78'
- Assists: RB Leipzig - Gruda (49'), Nkunku (61'); Manchester City - Ndiaye (58'), Anderson (78')
- Red cards: None
How the match unfolded
Leipzig were the better side for half an hour and had nothing to show for it. Antonio Nusa's drive from outside the area almost squirmed through Gianluigi Donnarumma before landing on the roof of the net, and Christoph Baumgartner curled a shot narrowly wide of the far post as the Bundesliga side pressed high.
City had plenty of the ball and no penetration. Their lead, when it arrived on 37 minutes, was a gift. Nico O'Reilly's harmless low cross should have been routine for Castello Lukeba; instead the defender got his feet in a muddle and slid the ball into his own net.
Haaland had barely been involved, feeding off scraps.
The equaliser came four minutes into the second half and it was a goalkeeping error. Ridle Baku drove a cross-shot towards the near post from Brajan Gruda's pass, and Donnarumma left far too much of that post exposed.
City restored the lead on 58 through Enzo Fernández. Iliman Ndiaye, making his first Champions League start, sent in an inch-perfect cross and the Argentine headed it in for his first Champions League goal for the club.
The advantage lasted three minutes. Christopher Nkunku, on as a substitute, supplied the pass and Nusa drilled a low finish past Donnarumma.
Leipzig made a triple change on 73 minutes, Reitz among those coming on, and Raum was booked four minutes later.
The decisive moment came from Anderson, City's most persistent player all night. He made a driving run down the right and delivered a low ball across the box; Haaland, finally on the move, slid in at the back post to convert. Rúben Dias came on immediately afterwards to see the game out, and Cherki struck the crossbar from range as City pushed for a fourth.
Leipzig had the ball in the net late on, but the forward was well offside. City saw it out.
What does the result mean in the table?
City sit seventh on nine points, back inside the top eight after the 4-2 home defeat by Paris Saint-Germain and back-to-back Premier League defeats that had made this a difficult week. Haaland's 13th goal in nine games against Leipzig is the kind of statistic that conceals an ordinary performance.
Leipzig stay 30th on three points with one win from four, and Demichelis will wonder how his side took nothing from a match in which they created the better chances before the interval. They had already lost 4-1 at Real Madrid on matchday two, and the distance between competing with Europe's best and beating them remains the story of their campaign.
The full Champions League table and matchday coverage is updated after every game.
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