Man City 3-1 Club Brugge: Mateo Kovacic and Savinho ensure Pep Guardiola’s side progress in do-or-die Champions League clash
The night began with Manchester City in flames. A blaze engulfed a merchandise kiosk outside The Etihad. It was swiftly extinguished and no one was hurt but it felt like a bad omen.
There have been times this season when it has felt as if the team that has dominated English football for the last four years was being consumed in a conflagration.
All the old certainties have flown away and when City went a goal down to a superb strike from Club Brugge’s Raphael Onyedika a minute before half-time, it felt as if the unthinkable was about to happen and that the team that won the Champions League the season before last might now be eliminated at the first stage.
That would have been the first time Pep Guardiola had ever failed to get a team out of the group stage of the competition in his garlanded career.
‘Thank you for your concern,’ he had said to journalists with withering sarcasm before the game.
‘I know how worried you are if we are out.’
Manchester City survived a scare to ensure they progressed in the UEFA Champions League
Savinho (right) ensured it was a positive result for City against a tricky Club Brugge side
Pep Guardiola cut a relieved figure at full-time after City had initially found themselves losing
We need not have worried. Guardiola need not have worried.
He made a change at half-time, brought on Savinho for Ilkay Gundogan and watched Savinho, who scored the third in this 3-1 win, change the game and ease them up from the 25th place they had occupied, one outside the qualification zone, up into the play-off places.
Guardiola brought Savinho on for Gundogan at half time and within two minutes, City should have equalised. De Bruyne swung over a lovely cross and when John Stones rose to meet it six yards out, it seemed like the prelude to a goal. Stones headed wide.
City’s equaliser came from the most unlikely source. Mateo Kovacic picked the ball up a few feet inside the City half and started to stride forward. No one came to challenge him so Kovacic kept running. And running. When he got to the edge of the area, he dragged his shot across Mignolet and into the bottom corner. A roar or relief rang around the Etihad.
But the fright night was not over yet. Tzolis beat City’s offside trap and then became involved in a wrestling match with Josko Gvardiol before the chance disappeared.
Guardiola, who was convinced there had been a Brugge handball in the melee, was booked for his protestations.
Tzolis was playing superbly for Bruges. City could not cope with him and he stepped inside Manuel Akanji and whistled a shot just wide. Even though City were level, they were still vulnerable.
They took the lead after an hour. Bernardo Silva slipped a ball inside the Brugge full-back for Gvardiol to run on to and he drove a venomous ball across goal. Joel Ordonez tried to intercept it but only succeeded in turning it into his own goal.
On the touchline, the entertainment continued. Guardiola was so overcome with joy and relief that he took it out on an orange crate full of energy drinks. He kicked it hard once, and then again with real feeling.
The night started with a merchandise stand on fire outside of the Etihad Stadium (pictured)
It went from bad to worse when Club Brugge took the lead right on the stroke of half-time
Guardiola was left in disbelief as his players again looked short of ideas to turn things around
They did find their groove in the second half and it was a result capped off by Savinho’s goal
City nearly put the game out of reach 17 minutes from time when Haaland won the ball on the edge of the Brugge box and brought a brilliant one-handed save out of Mignolet.
The rebound fell to Savinho and his shot was heading in before it was cleared off the line by Brandon Mechele.
Savinho made up for the miss soon afterwards when he took a diagonal ball on his chest as he sprinted into the area and then rifled his shot past Mignolet.
The alarm was over. Those flames had been doused.
