September 16, (THEWILL) – With Kevin De Bruyne dictating play upon starting again for Manchester City and Jack Grealish linking up play as he was bought to do, City turned what appeared a tricky game on paper to a pummelling on grass as they buried RB Leipzig 6-3 in their opening Group A tie of the UEFA Champions League at the Etihad Stadium.
City manager Pep Guardiola could not have wished for a better start to the continental campaign on his 300th game in charge of the Cityzens. It was pleasing for him to appreciate Grealish’s effort, for both scoring and assisting another goal in his UCL debut.
The hosts wasted little time in breaking the deadlock to signal their full intent for the Group A teams. The match was only 16 minutes in when Grealish swung in a devilish corner that found Nathan Ake unmarked. The Dutch defender powered his header to beat Peter Gulasci in the Leipzig net.
City’s Belgian talisman De Bruyne was at the heart of City’s second. He teased a beautiful cross to the danger area of the back post and a panic clearance by Leipzig defender Nordi Mukiele only ended up in his own net for an own-goal in the 28th minute of the fixture.
It was only right therefore for Mukiele to be the one to help the best Leipzig player of the day, Christopher Nkunku, with the first of his hattrick and a temporal halving of the deficit. Following a decent spell from the visitors, Nkunku finished an attacking move with a header in the 42nd minute.
City restored their two-goal cushion in added time of the first 45 minutes when Riyad Mahrez scored from the penalty spot after centre-back Lukas Klostermann used his arm time to block a Ferran Torres’ header. Klostermann’s indiscretion earned him a yellow card and allowed City pile on the pressure.
Leipzig returned from the interval determined to catch up. It was evident in the determined focus of their play. They were rewarded for their efforts because six minutes after the restart, Nkunku scored his second of a memorable evening for the Frenchman.
It was at this point that Grealish produced the quality City paid for when they broke the Premiership transfer record to bring him to the Etihad. He took possession of the ball on the right of the Leipzig goal area, carved into defense before hitting a pile driver which beat Gulasci in the visitors’ post.
Yet, even with all the class and quality in the City side and the fact that they ended the match with six goals, the night still belonged to Leipzig’s Nkunku. He represented the resilient spirit of the German side and produced a stunning third goal with a fine solo effort.
The 4-3 scoreline flattered the visitors but City made it five barely two minutes later through Joao Cancelo’s sublime strike from 20 yards.
The high-pulsating action was marred by the red card flashed against Leipzig’s Angelino. He got sent off for a second bookable offence against his former club, when he hacked down Cancelo with a clumsy challenge.
There was still time for Guardiola’s side to add a sixth. It came from substitute Gabriel Jesus, as the Brazilian found the net five minutes from regulation time, in what was his 200th appearance for the club.
They had done enough and nine goals were scored in all for City to finish above all else in the group especially after the other group tie between the resolute Club Brugge earned an unforgettable 1-1 draw against the might of a loaded Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain.
City will be counting on such an outcome for themselves too when they return to the UCL to take on PSG in matchday two for Group A on Tuesday, September 28.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
