Barney Ronay's match report
It didn’t look it would be that tense for Manchester City after the opening half hour, but they held out impressively in the end and deserved to maintain their 100% record in Group F. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus’s goals inside the first 15 minutes had City sitting pretty and they were all over Napoli for much of the first half. The Italians did well to steady themselves, however, won a penalty, missed a penalty, kept playing, won another penalty, scored that one and pushed for an equaliser. It didn’t come, though, and City are top of the group with three wins from three. Napoli are third, three points behind Shakhtar Donetsk, who won 2-1 at Feyernoord. It means City can qualify for the last 16 if they draw in Naples in a fortnight. That’s all from me tonight. Thanks for reading. Bye.
Full-time: Manchester City 2-1 Napoli
That’s your lot!
90 min+4: A final Napoli attack. Ounas does very well on the left before finding Mertens. His cross is headed away by Delph. As far as Allan. Back it comes. Mertens is interested, but Ederson comes out to claim the cross.
90 min+3: City have done well to waste most of added time so far. De Bruyne takes the ball to the corner.
90 min: Even at this late stage, City are still passing out from the back. There will be five added minutes.
89 min: Napoli lose it in their half. Gundogan breaks forward, but Reina pushes his shot away.
87 min: Manchester City are shutting up shop. Danilo replaces Gabriel Jesus. Pep Guardiola will be putting Fellaini on next.
84 min: Ghoulam, who’s causing a lot of problems, speeds forward from the left again. On the right, Callejon’s De Bruyne-esque cross has to be turned behind for a corner by Otamendi.
83 min: The corner’s poor but Napoli keep pressing. Mertens lays off to Ounas, who sends his tame shot straight at Ederson. Up the other end, Sane scoots past Allan, who does his best to concede a penalty, but the German can’t squeeze the ball past Reina.
82 min: City are the ones looking nervous now. Otamendi has to make a good challenge to stop Callejon on the right, but it’s not long before Maggio wins a corner. The home fans are quiet.
80 min: The free-kick’s out on the left, but De Bruyne reckons he can catch Reina out at the near post. Reina’s alive to the danger and punches clear. From there, City get themselves into trouble, losing it in midfield and allowing Napoli to counter. Callejon strokes a pass through to Mertens. He has two City defenders for company and decides to try a chip after spotting Ederson off his line. No. He gets it all wrong. Right idea, poor execution, the ball dribbling wide.
79 min: Sane, faced by two defenders, drops a shoulder and brilliantly beats Maggio on the outside. Maggio cynically brings him down just outside the area, taking the inevitable booking.
78 min: Adam Ounas replaces the disappointing Marek Hamsik.
77 min: Albiol tries to send a header back to Reina and ends up conceding a corner. Sane’s cross is headed away.
76 min: Ilkay Gundogan replaces David Silva. Raul Albiol has been booked for something.
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75 min: Gabriel Jesus puts the ball in the Napoli net after a superb City move, the Silva twins combining wonderfully before De Bruyne makes the final pass, but the flag’s up for offside.
74 min: Credit to Napoli. They were played off the park in the first 30 minutes and they haven’t particularly impressed all evening, but they’ve stuck at it, hung in the match and have their reward now.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Napoli (Diawara, 73 min)
Diawara has never taken a penalty before. You wouldn’t think so from this, though. He shows Mertens how it’s done, calmly stroking the ball into the bottom left corner with his right, beating Ederson’s dive, showing Mertens how it’s done and setting up a very intriguing ending here!
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PENALTY TO NAPOLI!
72 min: Another penalty for Napoli! Ghoulam charges into the box and swerves past Fernandinho, who hangs out his right leg, giving the referee an easy decision. Napoli have to score this.
70 min: Hysaj can’t continue. On comes Christian Maggio.
69 min: Bernardo Silva replaces Raheem Sterling, the first City goalscorer.
68 min: David Silva’s finally back on his feet. He eventually retakes his position on the pitch. Napoli are still down to 10.
66 min: David Silva is down after a clash of heads with Hysaj, who also has a nasty cut on his face. Silva’s being bandaged and he’s smiling, so it might not be too bad. But Bernardo Silva is getting ready to come on. Hysaj is also being wrapped up.
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65 min: City spend a while impressing with their passing at the back. It’s Barcelona-esque. Fernandinho’s transformed into Busquets. Until he reverts back to Pellegrini-era Fernandinho. All of a sudden, City are in a mighty spot of bother after Allan tackles the Brazilian on the edge of the area. They’ve made a right dog’s dinner of this! Mertens slides in and beats Ederson to the loose ball and knocks it to Hamsik. The goal’s open, but Stones brilliantly chucks himself in front of the shot to deflect it wide with his chest!
63 min: City make a meal of clearing their lines - in the way they clear their lines - and Hamsik slips a pass through to Zielinski. The midfielder collides with the covering Walker, but appeals for a penalty are half-hearted.
60 min: There isn’t much of a sign of Napoli getting back into this yet. City look pretty comfortable.
56 min: Lorenzo Insigne has gone down on the left. He’s looking forlornly at the bench. Napoli play Inter on the weekend. The winger’s replaced by Allan, whose introduction seems to amuse the crowd, leading to a load of cries of “Alan! Alan! Alan!”.
54 min: Fernandinho, who’s having a storming game in the middle, outmuscles Hamsik before turning to clip a pass through to Jesus. He speeds into the area, but he’s tackled before he can shoot. Still, though, he manages to readjust on the floor and prod back to Sterling. The ball eventually comes to Sane; a deflection takes his shot wide. The corner comes to nothing.
52 min: Hysaj, who’s had a difficult evening, chips a nice pass down the right. Callejon tries to speed on to it, but Ederson charges out to concede a throw. Callejon’s annoyed, complaining that Ederson wasted time by kicking the ball away. The referee tells him to do one.
50 min: After a Napoli move breaks down, Silva skitters through the middle, but for once he makes the wrong choice, ignoring Sane to his left and losing the ball.
48 min: Napoli help themselves to a spell of possession. Don’r be surprised if they score.
46 min: Napoli get the second half underway. City are immediately pouring forward, Kevin the Teenager sliding another impossible pass down the line to send Sterling haring down the right. He can’t quite find Jesus in the middle, though. If he had, it was 3-0.
A curious exchange at the end of the half. Kevin de Bruyne, still annoyed about that booking for dissent, tries to engage the fourth official in hot debate. Fernandinho, sensing his team-mate might get himself sent off, tries to lead him away. Then David Silva steps in. De Bruyne isn’t happy with this turn of events, growing even redder in the face than usual, his voice gradually ever more high pitched as his irritation grows. “Let me talk! Let me talk! Let me talk! Let me talk! LET ME TALK! LETMETALK! LEMMETALK! LEMMETAWWWWK!!” Eventually he storms down the tunnel.
Half-time: Manchester City 2-0 Napoli
Napoli are the best team in Italy at the moment. They’ve been made to look like wheezing mid-table flotsam. City have played exquisite football and scored two fine goals. The game isn’t over yet, though. Not only is there another half to play, Napoli have had a penalty saved and started to gather their thoughts a bit before half-time. They could score ... but you wouldn’t bet against City scoring a few more too.
45 min: A slack pass from Hamsik sparks another City attack. Again Sane confuses himself, but his odd cross runs to Sterling on the right. He keeps it alive before it goes and out turns it back to Jesus cleverly, but the Brazilian can’t beat Reina from a tight angle.
44 min: De Bruyne’s booked for dissent.
43 min: Napoli are pressing. It’s been tense for City since the penalty. Napoli have a free-kick on the right after David Silva does an Andy Carroll impression, catching Callejon with a stray arm. It must be the shaved head that’s bringing that out of Silva.
41 min: It’s been quite the half. City could easily be 4-0 up. It could easily be 2-1. As it is, City are still in control, but Napoli have encouragement all of a sudden. Napoli are playing now. Ghoulam darts down the left and crosses for Mertens. His shot’s blocked.
PENALTY SAVED!
38 min: Dries Mertens has scored so many goals in the past year. But this is a dreadful penalty! He hammers it down the middle, with no subtlety at all, and Ederson, diving to his right, blocks it with his legs! The ball spins to the opposite corner and Mertens looks poised to hammer in the rebound, only for Fernandinho to deny him heroically!
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PENALTY TO NAPOLI!
37 min: This hasn’t been coming. But it has arrived. Delph’s challenge went out for a corner. Callejon crosses and Walker, outnumbered at the far post, blatantly pulls Albiol down, giving away a penalty and earning a yellow card.
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36 min: A mistake from Delph almost offers Napoli a way back into the match. He gives it away on the left and City are exposed, but Mertens ignores the unmarked Hamsik in oceans of space to his left and allows Delph to get back to make a crucial challenge.
35 min: Pepe Reina, who’s always been overrated, gifts City possession with a poor kick. He’s let off the hook, though, Sane overcomplicating things before Fernandinho shoots wide from 25 yards.
33 min: Napoli enjoy a spell of calming possession, creeping into City’s half. What’s also a feature, though, is that City are making it hard for them to find a way through. They almost do so here, though. Insigne curls a cross to the far post, but Ederson claims it before Callejon can prod it in.
31 min: This has been hopelessly one-sided, but it’s one of those games where you don’t know if the losing side is doing anything wrong. It’s more that City are doing everything right, executing everything to sublime perfection. Napoli have been poor - Albiol’s just swung a pass out for a throw - but there aren’t many teams capable of withstanding this.
30 min: This is a truly ridiculous performance from City.
28 min: City are intent on utter humiliation here. Silva dinks a pass over the top to Sterling, who volleys the ball into the middle. Eventually Jesus sorts his feet out and seems to have scored a third after swivelling to shoot from close range, the ball dribbling goalwards despite Reina getting a hand to it, only for Koulibaly to somehow hack clear before it crosses the line!
25 min: On the edge of his own area, Kyle Walker takes a while to make up his mind. Just as the fans are getting edgy, though, he gets himself out of trouble with a clever piece of skill. But of course. And it begins again. Another light blue wave rolling towards the Napoli goal. They’re getting through at will. Where’s the Napoli midfield gone? Sterling charges through the middle and eventually finds Sane. He rolls it back to De Bruyne, who whips it first time with his left foot from 25 yards. It’s a cracking effort and Reina’s nowhere near it, but the ball crashes off the underside of the bar and to safety! That would have been a stunning goal!
24 min: It isn’t long before City have the ball back. Sane volleys wide on the left.
23 min: City aren’t going to stop. Fernandinho presses and wins possession on the right before curving a cross in. David Silva tries to acrobatically volley it in, but he makes a bit of a mess of it.
22 min: Napoli’s fans are still making a bit of noise, but there’s a mostly content, sated air around the place, like the City fans are sitting back and just letting the quality of the football wash all over them. You can’t blame them for bathing in this. What was all that about Guardiola being a fraud?
19 min: Napoli are really struggling. Zielinski does something silly, giving the ball straight to De Bruyne in the middle. Off they go. This time, though, Napoli recover in time, Sane halted by a fine tackle after being sent clear by Silva.
17 min: Insigne almost spurts on to a loose pass from Walker, but Stones deals with him. Napoli look stunned.
15 min: I suppose Stoke won’t be feeling so bad about themselves now.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Napoli (Jesus, 13 min)
Kevin de Bruyne is absurd. He latches on to the ball on the edge of the area, drives down the right and whips one of those devilish low, curling, slick crosses into the six-yard box for Gabriel Jesus, who isn’t going to miss from that range. What an assist. What a player. What a team.
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12 min: City can’t switch off, though. Here’s a minor warning, Hamsik’s raking pass almost setting Mertens away, only for Ederson to sweeper-keeper the ball away.
11 min: Napoli look rattled. Gabriel Jesus hassles them down on the left, winning back possession with great intensity. The Brazilian, who’s never off, bounces past Albiol, an experienced defender, and makes towards the area. Koulibaly needs to have his wits about him to concede a corner rather than a penalty.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Napoli (Sterling, 8 min)
A goal that is quickly becoming a Manchester City calling card. Napoli were sliced open so easily. Fernandinho knocks a pass out to the left for Sane, who waits for support before playing it down the line to Silva. From the byline, his cutback’s missed by Jesus, but it comes to Walker. Yes, Kyle Walker. The right-back. His shot’s blocked. Sterling’s isn’t, though. With Reina stranded, the winger’s left-footer flies into the net from close range and City lead!
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8 min: Hamsik sprays a pass down the left for Ghoulam. Stones mops up, reading the danger.
5 min: A loose ball breaks for Gabriel Jesus in the middle of Napoli’s half. He turns and looks to spring Sterling clear down the right, but he can’t quite reach it in time. Both teams are feeling their way into this. There’s a lot of respect out there.
4 min: Kevin De Bruyne’s penalised for catching Koulibaly with a high foot on the edge of the Napoli area. It looks a tight decision. He might have got the ball.
2 min: Napoli are using the high press. City knock the ball around in their own area and play their way out of trouble. There will be risk-taking tonight.
Peep! Off we go! Manchester City, in light blue, get the game underway. They’re kicking from right to left in the first half. And get this ... after 30 seconds, it’s still 0-0! We promised goals!!!!!!!!! Let down!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time for the Champions League anthem. Time for some boos. Really edgy stuff from the City fans.
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Napoli are in the tunnel. In their dark blue kits. They’re waiting for Manchester City. The hosts keeping the guests waiting. It’s a chance to examine Marek Hamsik’s mohawk, though. Great mohawk. Here come City, belatedly making their way down the steps. A handshake between the shaven-headed Silva and Hamsik. City are in tracksuit tops, which they won’t be wearing in around 10 seconds, and the teams emerge to a fine reception.
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Pre-match reading
Three minutes into the coverage on BT Sport, there’s been a joke about it finishing 0-0. Because Manchester City score loads and Napoli score loads, so duh!!!!!!!
Manchester City are unchanged from the weekend’s demolition of Stoke City, who are rumoured to have entered therapy since then. And look at that bench. Gundogan. Bernardo Silva. Claudio Bravo. And, of course, the returning Sergio Aguero.
Napoli look very strong too. Marek Hamsik’s still a class act in midfield, while that front three will fancy themselves against City’s occasionally creaky defence. Dries Mertens is in hot goalscoring form and Lorenzo Insigne is always capable of a moment of magic.
Team news
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Stones, Delph; Fernandinho; De Bruyne; Sterling, Silva, Sane; Jesus. Subs: Bravo, Aguero, Gundogan, Danilo, Yaya Toure, Mangala, Bernardo Silva.
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Zielinski, Diawara, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne. Subs: Sepe, Allan, Jorginho, Maggio, Maksimovic, Rog, Ounas.
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (ESP).
Preamble
Hello. Looking back to the first time the Champions League anthem blared around the Etihad Stadium, before the fans there would greet it as a chance to voice their disapproval of Uefa, perhaps it was clear that Manchester City were going to need some time to find their feet in the competition. Some newbies take to it straight away – Chelsea, for instance, got to the last eight in 2000 and almost knocked out Barcelona - but others are less sure of themselves at first and City fall into the latter category. They were full of optimism when they made their debut on 14 September 2011, having made a flying start in the Premier League, but any illusions they might have had about the challenges posed by the cream of the continent soon came apart against Napoli, who dominated in a 1-1 draw before going on to qualify for the last 16 at the expense of Roberto Mancini’s side.
It didn’t get any easier from there for City and any signs of improvement have mostly been gradual. Even when Manuel Pellegrini took them to the last four in 2016, they rather stumbled through before meekly going out to Real Madrid. It was supposed to change under Pep Guardiola last season, but despite an impressive win over Barcelona in the group stage, City still ended up crashing out on away goals to Monaco in the last 16. Though that wasn’t such a disgrace in the context of Monaco’s season, it was getting to the point where you wondered if City were ever going to be comfortable against Europe’s best.
That’s still not clear. True, they’re showing a fair amount of promise at the start of Guardiola’s second season. They’ve scored around around 572 goals in their first eight Premier League matches, they’re top of the league, Kevin de Bruyne is some kind of freakish genius, their football is amazing and they thumped Feyernoord in their opening match in Group F. But there’s room for improvement. Though they won their second match, succeeding where Napoli had failed and beating a very tricky Shakhtar Donetsk side, it wasn’t easy and this one is likely to be even harder. Much has changed since these two sides locked horns six years ago. There are few survivors from that City team, while Napoli don’t have Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi up front any more. What the Italians do have, however, is a perfect record in Serie A this season, Marek Hamsik in midfield, a prolific Dries Mertens in attack and a dreamy style of playing under Maurizio Sarri. This is likely to be one for the purists, a tactical feast, a clash of two wonderful attacking systems, and with Napoli unable to relax after starting their campaign with a win and a defeat, it’s likely to give us a strong indication of just how good City are.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
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