CHAMPIONS LEAGUE · RED BULL ARENA
HAALAND HAS THE LAST WORD IN LEIPZIG
Five goals, two Leipzig equalisers and a back-post finish from the old Red Bull boy as City end a bad week with three points
RB LEIPZIG 2 (Ridle Baku 49, Antonio Nusa 61) MANCHESTER CITY 3 (Castello Junior Lukeba 37 og, Enzo Fernández 58, Erling Haaland 78)
Erling Haaland barely had a kick in Leipzig. He needed only one.
With 12 minutes left and the game tied at 2-2, Elliot Anderson drove down the right and hung an early cross across the six-yard box. Haaland slid in at the back post and put it into an empty net. The Manchester Evening News counts it as his 13th goal against Leipzig.
“City have been really poor.”
City had led at half-time through a Castello Lukeba own goal on 37 minutes, but this was never comfortable. Four minutes after the restart Ridle Baku ran onto Brajan Gruda's clever reverse pass and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post from a tight angle.
Enzo Fernández put City back in front on 58 minutes, timing his run to meet Iliman Ndiaye's whipped cross from the left and heading it back across goal into the corner. The lead lasted barely three minutes. Christopher Nkunku, just on, flicked on Gruda's dinked ball and Antonio Nusa took a touch before driving it low into the far corner.
After Haaland's winner, David Raum struck the woodwork for Leipzig with Donnarumma beaten, and Rayan Cherki hit the bar for City. Jérémy Doku blazed over from six yards late on when it should have been 4-2.
City had two-thirds of the ball and, by the BBC's numbers, 2.21 expected goals to Leipzig's 0.80, yet Leipzig had more shots, 13 to 10.
Enzo Maresca's side came here after Premier League defeats by Aston Villa and Brighton. They leave with nine points from four games and seventh place in the table. Leipzig, on three points, are 30th.