Man City vs Napoli: Goals and Highlights
Summary
Manchester City started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over Napoli at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s side took advantage of Napoli’s early red card to run riot, getting all three points in the group stage.
Erling Haaland scored his 50th Champions League goal, Jérémy Doku added a tidy finish. Napoli, with 10 men, showed some spirit under Antonio Conte but couldn’t match Man City’s firepower and left empty-handed after Matchday 1.
Goals
Man City scored in the 58th minute when Erling Haaland headed in a clever flick from Phil Foden to become the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals in 49 games. Seven minutes later in the 65th, Jérémy Doku doubled the lead, beating two defenders before slotting past Vanja Milinković-Savić from a tight angle. Napoli had no shots on target, Man City had 23 attempts.
Player of the Match
Erling Haaland was Player of the Match for his header and constant threat. The Norwegian’s aerial presence and finishing sealed the win, he’s now 12 goals in 5 games to start the season.
Napoli’s captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off in the 21st minute for a last ditch tackle on Haaland, and the game was effectively over.
Man City dominated the first half, Vanja Milinković-Savić denied Nico O’Reilly and Joško Gvardiol, Matteo Politano cleared Tijjani Reijnders’ effort off the line.
Kevin De Bruyne returned from injury, linked up with Foden. Despite Napoli’s compact defence, Man City’s 2.18 xG was way more than the visitors’ 0.17. Antonio Conte praised his team’s spirit, Guardiola said Doku was “unstoppable”. This win sets Man City up nicely for the Arsenal game.
