Sparkling City brushed aside a fine Napoli team to qualify for the knockout stages
And that’s that! Manchester City qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League. Thing is, Napoli were pretty damn good tonight. They asked City some searching questions. But City were quite brilliant, and had all the answers. On this evidence, they are serious contenders for this year’s Champions League. Napoli, improbably, are in serious danger of crashing out at the group stage.
90 min +3: Sterling is clipped hard on the ankles by a frustrated Mertens, who is booked. Koulibaly is also booked for arguing, and will miss Napoli’s next match.
City score on the break from a Napoli set piece for the second time. The Napoli free kick leads to some pinball in the area. City clear, and flood forward. De Bruyne dribbles down the left, then into the middle, waits, then passes to his right. Sterling glides into the box and slams a shot past Reina and into the bottom left. What a performance this has been by Manchester City!
90 min +1: Otamendi is booked for a late lunge on Ounas, out on the right. Free kick. From which ...
90 min: City take the free kick short, go for the corner flag, and promptly lose possession. No matter, another attack is launched. David Silva bursts down the left and cuts back for his namesake Bernardo, who blasts over from the edge of the box. There will be four minutes of added time.
89 min: City are running down the clock in a calm, professional style. Insigne, frustrated, clips the back of David Silva’s heels, 25 yards from the Napoli goal, out on the right. Before the free kick can be taken, Gabriel Jesus comes on for Sane.
87 min: David Silva sprays a pass down the left for Sane to run onto. Sane cuts back for Bernardo Silva, who slams a first-time shot towards the bottom right from the edge of the box. Reina is behind it all the way.
85 min: The home fans whistle hard and loud as City knock it back and forth through the centre circle.
84 min: Napoli continue to press forward, but City aren’t letting them anywhere near the final third. The clock is City’s friend.
82 min: Jorginho is replaced by Adam Ounas.
81 min: The exciting Insigne burns down the left, after embarrassing Danilo with a flick over his head combined with on-a-sixpence spin. He then sprays right for Callejon, who combines down the channel with Mertens, before being flagged offside when clear in the area. There really wasn’t much in that at all.
80 min: Sane takes, looking for the top right. He can get the ball up over the wall, but not back down. Though he’s not too far off, the ball only a few inches over the bar.
79 min: Fernandinho has been quietly excellent all evening - it was his ball forward that set Sane scampering upfield for City’s third, for example - and now he dribbles down the middle of the park before drawing a foul on the edge of the Napoli D. Free kick.
77 min: Some more keep-ball by City. The home team, and indeed their vocal support, getting a little frustrated.
75 min: A change by both teams. Marko Rog comes on for Allan. Meanwhile Manchester City’s new all-time record goalscorer, Sergio Aguero, is replaced by Bernardo Silva.
73 min: Insigne dribbles into the City box from the left. He works enough space to get a shot away, what looks like a glorious curler into the top right. Fortunately for City, Otamendi dives in the way to block and head clear. This has been a wonderfully entertaining match. Both of these teams are a credit to the Champions League.
71 min: On the touchline, Guardiola engages the ref in a row about the penalty non-decision. He’s not letting that one go, despite his team taking the lead. Meanwhile David Silva comes on for Gundogan, who has a few more minutes under his belt.
City break upfield! Sane is romping at great pace towards the Napoli box. It looks like he’ll go all the way, but Hysaj block-tackles him brilliantly. Only problem is, Aguero is just behind the pair. He picks up the ball as it squirts from out of the challenge, makes it to the box himself, and slams a glorious finish into the bottom right! He’s broken Eric Brook’s long-standing record!
68 min: What a save by Ederson! Mertens comes in from the left, draws three men, and dinks a little diagonal pass to Callejon, coming in from the inside-right. Callejon is clean through and onside. He blasts goalwards, but Ederson somehow deflects the ball over! Wow! And from the corner ...
67 min: A loose Hamsik pass is snaffled by Gundogan on the edge of the Napoli box. Gundogan clips Aguero free. Aguero can’t get a shot away, but he’s well offside.
66 min: City enjoy some more possession in the middle of the park. It’s all accompanied by some wild whistling.
64 min: And then Mertens is sent scampering into a ludicrous amount of space down the left. The flag goes up for offside, but that looked extremely tight. City perhaps a little fortunate, as Mertens would have been free, albeit on the wing from the halfway line.
63 min: Sterling skips past Jorginho down the right, reaches the byline, and crosses into a busy area. The ball pings off the elbow of Hysaj. No penalty, probably because Hysaj was withdrawing his arm and trying to tuck it behind his body. City don’t totally agree with this analysis.
A step and a skip, and Jorginho tucks the penalty into the bottom left. No problem! And once again, the pendulum swings. This is some game!
61 min: The corner leads to another. City fail to clear the second, and Sane leaves out a hanging leg for Insigne to go over. It’s a soft one, but it’s a spot kick!
60 min: Insigne shovels a pass down the inside-left channel for Mertens, who flicks inside for Callejon. Stones comes across to hack the ball out for a corner on the left, before the Napoli man can burst into the box. And from the corner ...
58 min: Napoli have cranked up the pressure, so City take the sting out of the game with a little sterile possession in the middle of the park. Clever City.
56 min: More bedlam, as Insigne drops a shoulder to cut in from the left, puts Danilo on his arse, then sends a rising smash towards the top-left corner. Ederson is beaten, but the ball crashes off the crossbar and away.
54 min: Napoli string a few passes together. Mertens threatens to dribble clear down the inside-left channel, but he’s crowded out on the edge of the box. But that’s better from the home side. And their support respond with some trademark bedlam. Napoli desperately need something; their chances of making the knockout stages don’t look too great right now.
52 min: Mertens tries one of his crisp round-the-corner flicks for Allan down the right. But the tricks aren’t coming off any more, the passes failing to stick. Those opening 20-odd minutes seem an awfully long time ago.
50 min: Hamsik and Mertens combine well in the middle of the park, the latter spraying wide left for Insigne. A lot of time and space on the flank for the Napoli man, but there’s no Ghoulam around to support now. The attack peters out.
Sane curls high and hard, onto the head of Stones, 12 yards out Stones smashes a header towards the top left. It bounces off the crossbar, down, over the line, then back out. The linesman isn’t going to give it, but it’s well over the line, and the technology makes sure justice is done. What a header! And the Stadio San Paolo is plunged into miserable silence!
47 min: A run of determined brilliance by Sterling, who dribbles into the Napoli are from the right, past Koulibaly and Hamsik. He suddenly looks clear on goal! But as he shapes to open his body up and curl into the bottom left, Albiol slides in to block. Corner. From which De Bruyne curls deep from the right to force another corner. And from that one ...
Here we go again! The hosts get the party re-started. No changes. As things stand, City will make it to the knockout stages. Within ten seconds, Callejon curls a low cross into the City box from the right. Ederson claims without too much fuss.
Half-time admin:
A half of two halves, both teams taking turns to be utterly dominant. It promises to be some second half!
45 min: A glorious dribble down the right by De Bruyne. He’s got options either side, and selects Sterling on his outside. Sterling, perhaps noticing that his team-mate has just located a rich seam of form, tries to return the ball immediately, but the direction’s all out of whack. Napoli were backpedalling in a panic there.
44 min: This is all City. Now it’s Napoli’s turn to chase shadows. The home side can’t keep hold of the ball at all.
42 min: Sterling turns on the jets and bursts into the Napoli box from the right. He should shoot, but takes another touch, then goes down under a light shove from Hysaj. Sterling demands a penalty, but he’s not getting it for that.
