Man City beat Leipzig 3-2 in a Champions League thriller, with Erling Haaland scoring the winner to lift Enzo Maresca’s side into the top eight of the league phase and end the Germans’ 10-match winning run at the Red Bull Arena.
Cautious start in Germany
Leipzig were chasing a third successive Champions League home win for the first time since 2020 and held their own in a tight opening quarter-hour. Antonio Nusa cut inside and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma to parry his powerful strike over the bar. At the other end, Rayan Cherki dragged a promising chance just wide of the far post.
Martin Demichelis’ side kept threatening, and Christoph Baumgartner curled wide from 25 yards. City nevertheless took a fortuitous lead in the 37th minute. Nico O’Reilly sent a low ball into the box, and Castello Lukeba diverted it into his own net. Haaland and O’Reilly then both failed to convert close-range headers before the break.
Second-half goals
Leipzig started the second period at speed. Donnarumma superbly tipped Baumgartner’s long-range effort around the post, but Ridle Baku beat the Italian two minutes later. Baku spotted a gap at the near post and fired a brilliant strike into the net.
Enzo Maresca’s men restored their lead before the hour. Enzo Fernandez headed home from an inch-perfect Iliman Ndiaye delivery. Leipzig levelled just three minutes later, when substitute Christopher Nkunku set up Nusa for a clinical finish inside the box.
City regrouped and pushed for a third. Maarten Vandevoordt stood firm to deny a sharp Cherki effort, but the pressure told shortly afterwards. Elliot Anderson’s excellent work set up Haaland for a simple finish at the back post. It was the Norwegian’s 13th goal against Leipzig in just nine appearances.
Table impact
Cherki, Haaland and Jeremy Doku all went close to extending the lead, but City saw out the win to take three victories from their first four league-phase games. Leipzig slip to 30th in the standings, and their losing run against English opposition extends to six matches.
Anderson was named Flashscore Man of the Match for City.