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It was do-or-die for City on Wednesday night. This was no dead rubber, but the atmosphere pointed towards no big occasion. The tension in the stands manifested on the field as City huffed and puffed their way through the first half without testing Simon Mignolet between the Brugge posts.
Ilkay Gundogan had a goal ruled out for offside, but there was otherwise little to note in terms of City’s attacking endeavour.
After a bright start, the visitors’ confidence returned by the end of the opening period and they took a deserved lead just before the break through midfielder Raphael Onyedika, who netted his first Champions League goal after meeting Ferran Jutgla’s cut-back cross emphatically and finishing beyond Ederson.
There was a much-needed upsurge after half-time, with John Stones somehow failing to restore parity before Mateo Kovacic made up for the defender-cum-midfielder’s egregious miss by equalising a few minutes later – a determined ball carry and finish. Brugge continued to threaten in transition, but City’s attacking improvement proved too much as they quickly completed the turnaround after young centre-back Joel Ordonez converted Josko Gvardiol’s cross into his own net.
There was relief for Pep Guardiola after game-changing substitute Savinho added a third after latching onto Stones’ pinpoint pass in behind and finishing beyond Mignolet. After 80 minutes of tension, City retained possession for the remaining ten to see out the contest.
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
Subs not used: Scott Carson (GK), Stefan Ortega (GK), James McAtee, Nico O’Reilly, Jack Grealish, Max Alleyne, Jacob Wright.
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
Subs not used: Dani van den Heuvel (GK), …
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