Erling Haaland continued his remarkable goalscoring record against RB Leipzig as Manchester City secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory in Germany to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League.
The Norwegian striker struck the decisive goal in the 78th minute, converting Elliot Anderson’s low cross to complete an entertaining contest in which both sides twice found the net.
The victory was a welcome relief for Enzo Maresca’s side, who had suffered consecutive defeats in the Premier League and needed penalties to overcome Brighton in the Carabao Cup.
City struggled to break down Leipzig’s organised defence in the opening exchanges, with the hosts creating the more dangerous opportunities.
Antonio Nusa came close to opening the scoring with an effort from outside the penalty area that almost slipped through Gianluigi Donnarumma’s grasp before landing on top of the net.
Christoph Baumgartner also threatened, curling narrowly wide of the far post as Leipzig looked more dangerous despite City’s possession.
However, the visitors took the lead through an unfortunate own goal from Castello Lukeba, who mishandled Nico O’Reilly’s seemingly harmless cross and inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Leipzig responded immediately after the interval when Ridle Baku exploited space at Donnarumma’s near post to restore parity.
City regained the advantage in the 57th minute through Enzo Fernandez, who powered home a superb header.
But their lead lasted only three minutes, with Nusa producing an excellent low finish to bring Leipzig level at 2-2.
City continued to push forward and eventually found the winner through Haaland, who calmly converted Anderson’s cross in the 78th minute.
The goal was the striker’s 13th in nine appearances against Leipzig, underlining his remarkable record against the German side.
The victory gives City a valuable boost in their Champions League campaign as they seek to recover from their recent domestic setbacks.
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