Key stats
- Manchester City have scored in their last five games in the Champions League, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 18 games from 2nd November 2022 to 17th April 2024.
- Napoli attempted one shot in this game, the lowest total for any team in a single match in the Champions League this season
- Phil Foden created eight chances against Napoli, his most in a single outing for Man City in his entire career.
Highlights
Analysis
Jeremy Doku scored the highest Flashscore rating of the match (8.7), narrowly ahead of man of the match Phil Foden on 8.5.
Match report
Much of the pre-match attention centred on Napoli’s ex-Manchester contingent, but it was City’s recent arrival from Serie A, Tijjani Reijnders, who was first to go close with his stinging strike from range.
With 17 minutes gone, a Sam Beukema header from a corner brought the best out of Gianluigi Donnarumma, before the hosts launched a counter-attack that changed the game – referee Felix Zwayer initially judged Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s tackle on Erling Haaland to be fair, only to reverse the decision following a VAR review, sending the Napoli man off.
A Haaland header clipping the roof of the net soon after prompted Antonio Conte to hook Kevin De Bruyne and prematurely end the Belgian’s homecoming. The visitors’ more defensive setup was frustrating City, who were limited to drilled efforts from Phil Foden and Rodri, which were dealt with by Vanja Milinković-Savić.
The Serbian goalkeeper then made two fine stops in quick succession to deny headers from Nico O’Reilly and Joško Gvardiol, before reacting well to prevent a Matteo Politano own goal in first-half stoppage time.
The Cityzens’ frustrations looked to be continuing in the second half when Foden’s strike flashed across goal, but they finally found a way through 11 minutes after HT.
Rodri fed Foden, who clipped a ball over the Napoli defence and onto Haaland, who used his head to loft the ball over Milinković-Savić to bring up the fastest-ever half-century in the UCL.
Pep Guardiola’s men then gave themselves breathing space 10 minutes later when Jérémy Doku wriggled through the Partenopei and coolly finished for his first goal of the season.
The Italian champions’ defence managed to keep the chances to a minimum in the latter stages, but City had done enough to win just their second UCL match in their last eight outings in the competition, securing back-to-back wins for the first time in the 2025/26 season.
As for Napoli, they begin the UCL league phase by losing their 100% record this campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Click here to see all the stats of the match.
Post-match reaction
Man City midfield Phil Foden told TNT Sports: "They were a nightmare team to breakdown. I thought we were pretty clever and didn't give away too many turnovers.
"The first half was a bit frustrating. I wasn't getting too many touches between the lines. Erling (Haaland) is always going to make that run. It's just about getting that connection. He seems to break every record going. It's unheard of what he's doing. What an unbelievable player.
When asked about Kevin de Bruyne's return to the Etihad Stadium, he added: "He's a legend of the club. I can't thank him enough for what he has done. He's forever going to be a legend here."