In the third match of the group stage of the Champions League, Man City easily defeated Young Boys 3-1 despite the fact that they were had to play away from their home stadium.

Man City is playing exceptionally well in the Champions League group stage, as evidenced by the fact that Pep Guardiola’s squad won their third game in a row, advancing them to the next round. After the fourth round, which is two matches earlier than usual, there is a good chance that Manchester City will have secured tickets to the knock-out phase.

The competition that Man City faces from Young Boys is not up to par. The Swiss squad was under pressure from the moment the game started, despite the fact that they were competing in their own stadium. The ball kept moving deeper into the territory of the home team, making it easy for Man City to create scoring opportunities. 

Man City played ineffectively in the first half (Photo: Getty).

The visiting team had possession of the ball for 73% of the first half, taking 10 shots with a success rate of 50%, although Man City did not manage to score a goal during that time. The reason for this is that the shots that are being taken by Man City’s strikers are not really dangerous enough to force Racioppi to make a save.

The beginning of the second half was regarded as the juncture at which the game took a decisive turn. In the 48th minute, goalie Racioppi blocked Walker’s header, which resulted in the ball hitting the crossbar and falling to the ground. In a rush, Akanji was able to get to the ball first and slam it into the back of the net, which contributed to Man City taking a 1-0 lead.

However, the delight felt by the away team was just temporary. Elia beat the offside trap and expertly lobbed the ball over Ederson, who was the goalkeeper for the opposing team, in the 52nd minute, after a rapid counterattack by the home team. This goal brought the score to 1-1.

After the score was tied, Manchester City immediately went on the offensive again. Rodri was fouled within the penalty area in the 65th minute, which resulted in a penalty kick being awarded to the away team. It was a successful attempt by Haaland to take the penalty kick from 11 meters, and the score is now 2-1.

The attacking pressure that Man City applied throughout the game persisted. Alvarez put the ball in the back of the net for the home team after a spectacular rebound with Haaland in the 75th minute. Due to the fact that Grealish had already touched the ball with his hand, the referee was unable to acknowledge the goal after watching the film. 

Despite this, Manchester City was able to pull out a 3-1 victory over their opponent courtesy to a goal scored by Haaland in the 86th minute. The Norwegian forward finished the ball with his right foot from the top of the penalty area after turning the ball with his left foot and causing the goalkeeper for Racioppi city to stand motionless and watch the loss.

Haaland’s classy curling goal (Photo: Getty).

In the remaining match of Group G, RB Leipzig also won 3-1 against Crvena Zvezda. So after the first leg, Man City is at the top of the table with 9 points, RB Leipzig is second with 6 points, Young Boys and Crvena Zvezda are in the next positions with only 1 point. 

Man City will win tickets to continue early before two matches if they do not lose to Young Boys in the match of the 4th match taking place 2 weeks later. With home field advantage and a much higher level than their opponents, Man City’s ability to win early tickets is very high.