Manchester City moved into the top eight of the UEFA Champions League standings following a 3-2 win over German outfit RB Leipzig on the fourth matchday in Germany on Wednesday. Erling Haaland struck the decisive goal in the 78th minute to help Enzo Maresca’s side clinch their third Champions League victory in four matches.
Manchester City opened the scoring in the 37th minute through an own goal from Castello Lukeba. Ridle Baku levelled the score for RB Leipzig, with City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma being caught out at his near post.
Enzo Fernandez then restored Manchester City’s lead in the 58th minute with a powerful header past goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoort, only for the German side to level the scores again at 2-2 courtesy a goal from Antonio Nusa in the 61st minute.
With just 12 minutes to go in regulation time, it was City’s main man Haaland at it again, as the Norwegian international scored a close-range goal to give City a 3-2 lead, and eventually all three points.
Manchester City in top eight race
The victory took Manchester City to seventh place in the 36-team Champions League standings, with nine points from four matches and a healthy +5 goal difference.
City began their European campaign with a 2-0 win over FC Porto before going down 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain. They then thumped AEK Athens 5-1 at home before getting the better of RB Leipzig in an away clash.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, find themselves at the wrong end of the standings in 29th place with just three points from four matches. They began their campaign with a 4-1 loss to Como, before beating PSV Eindhoven 1-0 for their only win in the Champions League so far. Leipzig then suffered a 4-1 loss to Spanish giants Real Madrid on the third matchday of the league stage.
In the new format of the UEFA Champions League, the top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, whereas teams between ninth and 24th compete in a knockout stage playoff round to enter the last 16. Teams placed below 24th are eliminated after eight matchdays.
What next for RB Leipzig and Manchester City?
RB Leipzig, fourth in the German Bundesliga with 15 points, will next host FC Augsburg on Saturday, whereas Manchester City will play 19th-placed Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League on Saturday as they look to get back to winning ways.
City, second in the Premier League standings with 21 points, have suffered consecutive league defeats to Aston Villa (2-1) and Brighton and Hove Albion (1-0).
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