Haaland winner lifts Manchester City past RB Leipzig after two equalisers

Erling Haaland scored the deciding goal as Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League, recovering from two equalisers to secure an away victory. According to the Guardian’s match report, Elliot Anderson delivered the cross that Haaland converted, giving Enzo Maresca’s side a win after a run that had included Premier League defeats against Aston Villa and Brighton.

Watch the highlights:

Maresca made four changes to the team beaten by Brighton, including selecting Abdukodir Khusanov ahead of Rúben Dias at centre-back. Haaland took the captain’s armband. Leipzig threatened through Antonio Nusa and Christoph Baumgartner before City opened the scoring: Rayan Cherki found Nico O’Reilly on the left, and the defender’s immediate cross was diverted into his own net by Castello Lukeba. Haaland and O’Reilly subsequently missed opportunities with headers.

Leipzig drew level after the interval when Anderson’s attempted pass towards O’Reilly was intercepted near halfway. The home side advanced down the right, where Brajan Gruda supplied Ridle Baku on the overlap. Baku beat Gianluigi Donnarumma from a tight angle, sending his shot between the goalkeeper and the near post. Donnarumma also struggled to hold another Baku effort, although he recovered the ball on that occasion.

City restored their advantage through Enzo Fernández, who arrived to head in Iliman Ndiaye’s cross from the left. Leipzig responded again, with Nusa finishing from the left as City’s defence was opened up and Matheus Nunes was out of position. Anderson then sent a close-range attempt over before providing the delivery for Haaland’s winner. Cherki also struck a post late in the match.

Despite the victory, Maresca acknowledged problems with both goals his team conceded. The Guardian reported that he regarded the first as a goalkeeping mistake and believed both could have been avoided. He said Donnarumma recognised his error on Baku’s equaliser, but indicated that he was not immediately considering the goalkeeping position and would review matters during the international break.

City’s next assignment is an away meeting with Nottingham Forest, which Maresca identified as his immediate focus. The Leipzig result provided a response to their recent domestic defeats, with Haaland’s finishing ultimately separating the sides after City had failed twice to protect a lead.