Storms over Saxony on Tuesday severely hampered Manchester City’s travel to East Germany.

For the holders, however, the path to the knockout stages appears to be considerably simpler.

 

Coming off the bench, Julian Alvarez gave Pep Guardiola’s team a delightful late winner over their usual Champions League opponents.

Five minutes after taking Phil Foden’s place as the other goal scorer, the Argentine received a feed from Jeremy Doku and curled in a stunning goal from the edge of the area.

In stoppage time, the World Cup winner then paid it forward by sending Doku packing to ensure the outcome was certain.

Erling Haaland, his teammate, owes them both a heartfelt gratitude.

The Norwegian wasted a number of opportunities that could have cost him dearly and, for once, had a night to forget against his favorite opponents.

Rather, the team that won the triple crown has the most points after two games and has already overcome their most difficult group-stage encounter.

 

In their defense of the title they captured in June, City has taken off.

These two teams are playing each other in this competition for the third season in a row.

Josko Gvardiol’s goal in the second half helped Red Bull secure a draw against them when they played here in the round of 16.

The Croatian World Cup hero paid £77 million to join City in the summer, and prior to kickoff, his former team offered him a heartfelt send-off.

Erling Haaland scored five goals in a 7-0 demolition in the second leg in Manchester, a match he would certainly prefer to forget.

The Norwegian, who has 11 goals in just six games, enjoys playing against these opponents.

Compared to other opponents, the 23-year-old has more than that.

The last time City lost three straight games was in the spring of 2018; nevertheless, with losses at Newcastle and Wolves, they again have to face that possibility.

Before the game, the manager acknowledged that it had “hurt” his team, but he liked it that way since it gave them motivation to start winning again.

Playing teenager Rico Lewis as a midfielder alongside Rodri was one of Guardiola’s surprising team decisions.

This meant that Kalvin Phillips, Mateo Kovacic, and Matheus Nunes—who together cost over £125 million—were all benched.

However, it appeared to be a success as he assisted his team in dominating the opening exchanges and even took part in their first significant opportunity.

After his attempt was stopped, Foden tried again, but Bernardo Silva, who was practically standing on the post, was unable to put the ball in the goal.

After that, Foden dribbled past a few defenders, but his shot was wide.

It’s possible that Guardiola, who appeared more heated than normal on the sidelines, was frustrated by their inability to convert their clear advantage into goals.

However, it was reasonable to assume that the visitors would score, and when they did, it was created at the City Football Academy.

After switching passes with Bernardo Silva, Lewis pulled back to let Foden to shoot into the ground, which went past Janis Blaswich.

A fantastic combination between two of the young players City has developed through the ranks resulted in a unique goal.

Foden scored his eleventh goal of the match, and he will undoubtedly score many more.

Haaland, a former City supporter, attempted to join in the action by getting past the home team’s defense but, surprisingly, put his shot wide and across goal.

Just before halftime, the Norwegian attempted another goal attempt from a close range, but instead of shooting squarely at Blaswich, he fired straight at him.

Similar to the match in February, City had the upper hand but had not finished the game.

And within four minutes of the restart, they were paying the price when Red Bull counterattacked after Jack Grealish threw the ball away.

Lois Openda brushed off Manuel Akanji after Yussuf Poulsen put a ball through to her, and she slid a shot under Ederson and in off the post.

It makes sense why Guardiola put his head in his hands—the home team had made their first meaningful attempt of the evening, and they were tied.

Although they were aware that they were in a game, City lost the opportunity to take the lead when Foden curled over a low cross that Haaland was unable to finish.

However, the England player was clearly in the zone since his wonderful free kick from a tight position nearly caught Blaswich off guard as it struck the bar’s underside.

While this was going on, Haaland was having one of those nights where Blaswich had to dive full stretch to block his low shot.

Following some excellent work by Lewis, the £51 million man rocketed over the bar with another effort. He ought to have had the match ball, at the absolute least.

Alvarez scored a stunning goal and then put Doku, another substitute, scoring as Leipzig tried to equalize.