FULL TIME: Sevilla 1-3 Manchester City
The final act of the game sees Banega whip a corner into the City box from the right. Rami heads well wide right. And that’s that! Manchester City become the first English team to beat Sevilla at home. They’re also the first English team through to the Round of 16 this season. They deserve nothing less after a stunning performance: they were exciting in the first half, staunch in the second. It could only have been a better evening if they had been playing in blue as opposed to neon yellow, and news came through that Uefa had sacked their musical director.
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90 min +3: It’s finished 1-1 between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Juventus. City can touch the second round.
90 min +2: The first of four added minutes goes by without incident. The second sees Immobile clip the heels of Kompany as he chases a long, hopeful ball. The home crowd go ballistic, but they know the jig is up.
90 min: Fernandinho has been City’s man of the match, though Sterling and Navas have run him close. He’s knocked over by Krychowiak, and though he’s OK, he’s replaced by Demichelis. Good old time management. Though they’re nearly hoist by their own petard. After taking an age to make the switch, the referee blows his whistle to restart the game the millisecond Demichelis’s boot crosses the white line. Immobile romps down the right and lashes into the side netting with City snoozing. That would have been interesting all right.
88 min: Toure robs Krohn-Dehli in the middle of the park, and strides towards the Sevilla box. He should be causing all manner of trouble, but faffs around and then passes to nobody out on the left. Ah well, nobody’s perfect. But there’s not a City player who deserves any criticism tonight. They’ve been magnificent from front to back.
86 min: Bony, his work done, jogs off. He’s replaced by Fabian Delph, making his Champions League debut.
85 min: Sevilla, in Desperation Mode now, are pressing City back a little. Balls repeatedly swung into the box from both flanks, but each and every time they’re thumped clear by either Kompany or Otamendi. Eventually Tremoulinas wanders offside, and the pressure’s off.
83 min: Sagna and Navas clip passes to each other down the right. Sagna pulls the ball back from the byline for Bony, who should score from 12 yards out, just like he did in the first half. But this one’s blocked at source. A chance spurned to wrap this one up for good.
81 min: City are in total, quiet control here. This is a masterclass of game management. Meanwhile in more Coke-Is-Not-It news (56 min) here’s Michael Day: “Back in 1985, a Brattleboro, Vermont man, Fred Koch, was tired of having his name mispronounced and had it legally changed to Coke-Is-It. Of course, Coca Cola was not pleased and took him to court.” Boo, Red Global Concern! Boo!
78 min: ... blooters a witless effort straight into the City wall. The next phase of attack sees Tremoulinas loop a high ball into the box from the left. Vitolo goes up with his hand, but no Maradona he. An affronted Hart rails at the referee. A free kick for City, but no booking for the saucy-fingered Sevilla star.
77 min: De Bruyne clatters into Krychowiak, and that’s a free kick for Sevilla 25 yards out. A chance for Banega to have a whack at goal. He steps up, and ...
75 min: Banega, from a free kick deep down the right, looks to spring Konoplyanka clear down the right. The ball’s too fierce, and the winger can’t keep it in. Nothing much happening for Sevilla in attack right now.
73 min: Sterling, who has been at his effervescent best tonight, is replaced by Kevin De Bruyne. Fans of Liverpool and Chelsea sigh a heavy sigh. Hey, everyone’s got something in common.
72 min: Konoplyanka diddles down the left, and arrows a diagonal riser towards the other corner. It’s not far off target. That would have been spectacular. It was a reminder that this isn’t over quite yet. A goal would soon change the mood.
71 min: Toure and Bony exchange crisp passes on the edge of the Sevilla box. Toure takes a touch to the right, and curls a powerful effort towards the top right. It’s the sort of shot he so often whips home, but this one is inches wide of the post, with Rico beaten.
70 min: Mariano Ferreira holds the ball well down the right, before springing Krohn-Dehli into space. The Danish international wins a corner off Fernando, then wastes the set piece. The home support are beginning to feel a wee bit frustrated, if the odd whistle is anything to go by.
68 min: Mariano Ferreira and Vitolo combine down the right, the latter whipping a cross towards the near post. Immobile is lurking, but Kompany doesn’t let him have a sniff. A powerful header clear, and that’s another Sevilla attack repelled.
66 min: Now City are pressing high up the pitch, and it’s Sevilla’s turn to find it difficult to escape from their own half. In its own way, this is as impressive a performance from City as their efforts in the first half. They’ve drawn Sevilla’s sting, and are beginning to look very solid indeed.
64 min: Llorente, who has had a poor evening, the nadir a shovel over from close range when it was easier to score, is replaced by Immobile. It’s the final shuffle of the evening for the hosts.
63 min: City string a series of passes back and forth across the front of the Sevilla area. It’s a mesmerising sequence, the pinnacle of which sees Sterling move left to right, desperate to create space to shoot. Sevilla hold firm, but only just, and Sterling’s effort is blocked.
61 min: Konoplyanka earns a corner for Sevilla down the left. The set piece is pulled back to Krohn-Dehli, who whips a cross into the box. It’s headed over for another corner by Toure. City mop the second one up without much fuss. City aren’t exactly in total control here, but Hart isn’t being forced into action much.
59 min: Banega sashays in from the right, and is upended by Fernando. It should be a free kick, but the referee waves play on. To wild whistling, City hit it long down the middle, and Bony’s not far away from getting to the punt ahead of Rico, but the keeper times his run out of the box to perfection, and hoofs clear. So close to a little controversy there.
58 min: City have done pretty well to quell that early second-half passion from Sevilla. The home fans, who had upped their game again after the restart, have gone a bit quiet again. This doesn’t happen so often.
56 min: Coke is not it. A very unhappy Sevilla skipper is withdrawn in favour of Mariano Ferreira.
55 min: Another Sterling skitter, this time from the left wing. He slips the ball to Bony on the edge of the area. Bony screws a poor effort wide left. He’ll be relieved to see the flag go up for offside, even though he wasn’t.
53 min: Sterling goes on a lengthy meander down the middle of the park. He reaches the edge of the area, drops a shoulder and glides off to the right. A chance to shoot, perhaps, but he rolls the ball inside for Fernandinho on the penalty spot. Fernandinho has a first-time lash at the ball, and would have made it four, the ball heading for the right-hand side of goal, were it not for Rico’s sturdy parry.
52 min: Tremoulinas wins a corner off Sagna down the left. A chance for Sevilla to load the box, and test City in the air yet again. Konoplyanka takes long, but Coke can’t make anything of it at the far post. Kompany stood strong there. City try to break upfield through Navas down the right, but the ball back inside for Sterling is no good whatsoever and easily intercepted by a backtracking Rami.
50 min: Coke dribbles in from the right and has a batter at goal from the edge of the area. It’s blocked in an instant, but these are slightly worrying times for City, who are getting pushed back into their final third, and are struggling to get out.
49 min: Sevilla have clearly decided to test City’s ability against the high ball and the whipped cross. Vitolo barges down the right and sends a high one into the area. Again Llorente isn’t miles away from connecting, though again City deal.
48 min: Sevilla have started the half well. Tremoulinas makes good down the left, checks back, and whips a lovely cross into the box. Llorente isn’t far away from getting his head onto that, but Otamendi does enough to pester him and the ball flies out for a goal kick.
47 min: Krohn-Dehli has been thrown on to further embellish Sevilla’s tricksy passing. He’s quickly involved, flicking a pass down the right for Koke. but the flag goes up for offside as Vitolo comes across to get involved.
And we're off again!
The hosts get the ball rolling, as they attempt to salvage their proud home record. They’ve won their last ten in Europe, remember. Their last ten! A change in the Sevilla midfield: Michael Krohn-Dehli comes on for Vicente Iborra.
Half-time advertisements: Even Manchester City fans will enjoy watching Georgie Best shilling cheap cologne in the park. This 1969 break also features Dusty Springfield distributing sliced bread, Una Stubbs cooking fish fingers for Warren Mitchell, a man wrestling a lion, and one of those phallic Flake numbers. It’s fair to say the patriarchy had its hairy hand on the tiller for much of this.
HALF TIME: Sevilla 1-3 Manchester City
A corner for Sevilla down the right. After some sparring, Krychowiak guards the ball at the left-hand corner of the box, then goes down under a challenge from Fernando. The lightest of clips on the ankle. The referee’s having none of it. Like City’s claim earlier, you’ve seen them given, but it would have been hellishly soft. And that’s that for the first half. That’s as good as Manchester City have played in the European Cup, stretching all the way back to 1968. Another 45 minutes of that, and City folk will be very happy people this evening. But Sevilla hardly ever lose at home in Europe, so expect a second-half backlash. It promises to be quite a lot of fun. Don’t go anywhere!
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45 min: Banega sliderules a pass down Tremoulinas, whose low cross nearly finds Llorente on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The flag goes up for offside. Meanwhile Juventus have equalised against Borussia Mönchengladbach, so once again, as things stand, City will qualify for the second stage!
43 min: Toure threatens to break into the Sevilla half, with the home side light on numbers. Krychowiak brings him down in a cynical fashion, and doesn’t bother arguing when the yellow card is flashed in his pained boat.
41 min: Konoplyanka hares down the left and from the tightest of tight angles hammers a shot towards the top left. Hart refuses to be beaten at his near post, batting down the hard, rising shot with confidence. Norwich seems an awfully long time ago, all of a sudden.
40 min: Sterling leaves Rami in the centre circle, Ferenc Puskas to his Billy Wright. Combining with Kolarov, who supports him on the overlap, City earn a corner on the left. Otamendi’s header drifts wide left of the target.
38 min: Sevilla try to mix it up with a couple of uncharacteristic high balls into the City area. The travelling defence mop everything up without too much fuss. The strains of Blue Moon drift across an otherwise quiet Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. I wonder if they’re booing that in the Uefa boardroom?
GOAL! Sevilla 1-3 Manchester City (Bony 36)
... score, of course. What a game this is! Hart’s clearance found Navas down the right. The former Sevilla winger twists and turns, beats Tremoulinas with a neat trick, enters the area, and rolls a cutback for Bony on the penalty spot. Bony sweeps a first-time effort into the bottom right. This is Manchester City all right! They’ve provided plenty of astonishing entertainment in Europe already this season, and this match is even better!
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35 min: Another corner for Sevilla down the left. Konoplyanka hits it deep. Hart plucks it from the sky, but only at the second attempt. He kicks out. City go up the other end, and ...
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34 min: Toure, Kolarov and Sterling combine down the left, some pretty triangles. The ball’s laid off to the rampaging Fernandinho, whose daisycutter whistles off way to the left of goal. This scoreline could be anything.
33 min: Fernandinho once again wins a ball he’s got no right to win. He strides towards the Sevilla box, and lays off for Bony, whose low shot is deflected out of play on the right. Corner, which Otamendi meets eight yards out. His header, into the ground, isn’t particularly strong, though, and is gathered easily enough by Rico.
30 min: But City get smart and pass the ball around the middle of the park awhile, taking a little of the sting out of the game. Plenty of whistling from the home crowd, which suggests they’re doing something right.
28 min: A long ball into the City box is bundled out of play on the right by Kolarov for a corner. Konoplyanka whips it into the mixer, where Krychowiak rises and plants a stunning downward header towards the bottom-right corner. Hart whips the ball off the line, Gordon Banks style, though he can only parry the ball towards Llorente. The crowd cheer a goal, but Llorente smacks the ball into the side netting from a tight angle at close range. Wow. The home side should be level. This is Manchester City.
26 min: A pause for a couple of minutes as Sterling gets treatment for some ailment or other. For a second it looks like he’ll be going off, but he gets up to battle on.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-2 Manchester City (Tremoulinas 24)
Vitolo drifts in from the right, then on the edge of the area threads a pass down the channel to release Coke into space. Coke draws Hart and loops the ball over the keeper, allowing a stooping Termoulinas to head into an empty net from close range. What a gorgeous team goal! And all of a sudden, after a period of such pretty dominance, the picture doesn’t look quite so rosy for City. Football, huh?
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23 min: Sevilla cry for a penalty, as Konoplyanka makes good down the left only for his cross to be blocked by Sagna. They’re claiming arm, but the ball looks to have hit the City full back on the hip. Even if that’s clanked into his hand, the players are so close together that a penalty couldn’t have been awarded.
22 min: Borussia Mönchengladbach have taken the lead at home against Juventus. If everything stays as it is, City aren’t going through this evening now. The flip side of that, of course, is that Juve dropping points increases City’s chances of winning the group. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
21 min: Sterling threatens to break down the left. Sevilla put a stop to his gallop, but Jesus Navas simply embarks on a dangerous skitter down the other flank instead. A shot from the edge of the area, threaded towards the bottom left. Rico flops over it.
20 min: But it’s not all over yet, of course. Iborra wins a corner down the left. It’s whipped towards the near post, where Toure has to morph into a golf club to hack the ball away from danger with Llorente lurking just behind him.
19 min: They’ve been showing replays of Jesus Navas hitting the post. His shot was tipped onto the woodwork by the fingertips of Rico. Marvellous football all round, not that the locals will be particularly appreciative. City have been so good.
17 min: More space for Jesus Navas down the right. He clips the ball inside, into the area for Toure, who attempts to sweep first time into the net from ten yards. The effort is blocked, but Sevilla - who always win at home in Europe - are in severe danger of being totally blown away here.
15 min: Another sign that this could be City’s night. A cross whipped into their area from the right by Vitolo. Iborra flicks a header on, and the ball drops to Llorente, in the middle, eight yards out. He has to score, but leaning back, he shovels his shot over the bar!
13 min: This is an astonishing start by Manchester City, who would win the Champions League, no question, if they could somehow bottle the unique energy they’ve sourced tonight! Jesus Navas twists and turns down the right, reaches the edge of the six-yard box, and lashes a shot across Rico and off the bottom of the left-hand post! That deserved a goal. City should be three up, and that’s not counting the possible penalty shout!
GOAL! Sevilla 0-2 Manchester City (Fernandinho 11)
Sterling, bustling hard, wins the ball down the right wing. He zips into the area, and rolls a pass into the centre for Bony, who leans back on the penalty spot and aims for the top left. Rico again stands firm, but though he parries brilliantly, the ball breaks to Fernandinho on the left of the six-yard box. The midfielder rises and plants a header into the empty net. What a start!
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10 min: City have their tails up here. Kolarov and Sterling combine down the left, and the former has the ball at his feet in the box, albeit at a tight angle. He blasts for the near corner, but Rico stands firm.
GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 Manchester City (Sterling 8)
Fernandinho has been everywhere in these early stages. And now he picks up possession 25 yards out, strides across the front of the area from right to left, then slides a pass down the channel to release Sterling into the box. Sterling, on his weaker left foot, threads a shot into the bottom right. What a cool finish! And what an assist. As things stand, City are going through!
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7 min: Fernandinho enters the Sevilla box down the inside-left channel. He’s nudged gently in the back by Krychowiak, and goes over with extreme prejudice. The referee’s not having it, and it’d have been as soft a penalty as you like, but you’ll have seen them given. But no matter, because ...
5 min: An end-to-end start continues as Sevilla earn a free kick down the left. They load the box, but Banega and Konoplyanka faff around for an age with some tippy-tappy nonsense. Finally Banega hoicks the ball into the box, but can’t clear the first man. What a hopeless waste.
4 min: Though watch out down the other end! Coke embarks on an effervescent jig down the right, flipping the ball over a confused Otamendi’s head and cutting into the box. He hooks the ball back into the centre from the byline, but there’s nobody waiting on the penalty spot. City skedaddle up the other end, and Bony’s got the chance for yet another shot. This one’s weak and straight at Rico.
2 min: It’s a busy start by Fernandinho. He breaks up Sevilla possession in the middle of the park, allowing Bony to advance on the box. A low shot squirts wife left of the post from 20 yards. Two fairly dismal early efforts, but a bright start by City overall.
And we're off!
City get the ball rolling. There’s a rare old atmosphere in Sevilla tonight. Jesus Navas scampers down the right. Deafening whistles. No favourites here. The ball breaks to Fernandinho on the right-hand edge of the D. He slaps a fairly lame shot wide right. Should have done better.
The teams are out! Sevilla are in their white home kit with red trim, while Manchester City wear their famous sky bl... hold on, they’re in third-choice neon lemon. Oh for goodness sake. Thank you, unfettered capitalism! Thank you! At least City’s fans have dignity uppermost in mind: they’re refusing to kow-tow to those pompous tubes at Uefa, who are considering disciplinary action against the club after the competition anthem, Desecrating Handel, was booed at the City of Manchester Stadium the other week. Look at what they’re up to this evening! Wonderful.
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BT Sport are making quite a lot of a “Late, Late Show” riff tonight. Manchester City have registered back-to-back last-gasp wins in this competition, you see, against Borussia Mönchengladbach and tonight’s opponents, and since 2014 have scored 27% of their Champions League goals during the last five minutes.
And yet no mention of the obvious.
Why does Manuel Pellegrini think City are such late, late specialists? “Our team continues to believe during every game. Spirit, character, personality, we have a lot of things you need as a team to win games.” So there you have it. But while we’ve got the City manager’s attention, why the omission of De Bruyne? “I choose this starting XI because it is the best starting XI for us tonight. Various tactical and physical reasons. It should be a very close game tonight.” So there you have that as well.
Manchester City make two changes from their extremely unconvincing win over Norwich City at the weekend. Fernando and Raheem Sterling come in for Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho. It’s a special evening for Jesús Navas, who returns to his home city and the club he served for ten years. He made 393 appearances for Sevilla, scoring 34 goals and winning two Uefa Cups, one Super Cup and two Spanish Cups. The hosts meanwhile are without their leading goalscorer Kevin Gameiro. He’s got a hamstring problem. Their line will be led by Fernando Llorente, who scored Sevilla’s consolation in their last match, a 2-1 defeat at Villarreal.
The teams
Sevilla: Rico, Coke, Rami, Kolodziejczak, Tremoulinas, Iborra, Krychowiak, Vitolo, Banega, Konoplyanka, Llorente.
Subs: Soria, Krohn-Dehli, Reyes, Immobile, N’Zonzi, Escudero, Ferreira.
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Toure, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Sterling, Bony.
Subs: Caballero, De Bruyne, Delph, Mangala, Clichy, Demichelis, Barker.
Referee: Kim Thomas Haglund (Norway)
🎼 ♫ Die Meister BOO Die Besten BOOOOOOO Les grandes équipes GERROFF BOOOOOOO The champions ♪
Just how much of a momentum shifter will Kevin De Bruyne’s late winner at the City of Manchester Stadium against Sevilla prove to be? Manchester City have never really been able to catch a break in this tournament, and after opening up in a difficult group with a home defeat against Juventus, it looked like being more of the same old, same old. A determined late surge at Borussia Monchengladbach put their campaign back on track, but things appeared to be going awry again at home to Sevilla. Until that late De Bruyne intervention.
City are now snugly ensconced in second place of Group D at the halfway mark of this opening stage. A point behind Juventus, they’re three points clear of Sevilla, who desperately need a result tonight. The reigning Europa League champions need to bounce back quickly after back-to-back away defeats at Juve and City, and they’ll be buoyed by their home form: they’ve won their last ten European fixtures at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. This will test City’s mettle all right.
Sevilla also have a pleasant historical record against English clubs. Their last match against Premier League opposition saw them beat Arsenal 3-1 at home in the 2007-08 Champions League group stage. In the previous season’s Uefa Cup, they knocked Tottenham Hotspur out of the quarter finals. And in 2006, they thrashed Middlesbrough 4-0 to lift the Uefa Cup. Yes, City have a job on here.
But on the other hand, the pressure could be unbearable for Sevilla. Because should City win here tonight, and Juventus win at Monchengladbach, they’ll qualify for the Round of 16 with a couple of games to spare. “This team is not prepared to try to draw the game,” says Manuel Pellegrini. “We are going to try to win the game from the beginning.” If they manage it, De Bruyne’s late goal last month will have been quite the momentum shifter indeed. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.45pm in Sevilla, 7.45pm back in Manchester.
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