The current champion of the Champions League, Manchester City, walks without problems to the round of 16, after remaining undefeated in the group stage by winning this Wednesday against Young Boys
He Manchester Citythe current champion, headed towards the round of 16 of the Champions Leagues, after extending their winning streak in the group stage by winning 1-3 this Wednesday against the Young Boys Swiss; with a double from the Norwegian Erling Haalandwhich broke a streak of five consecutive games without scoring in the top continental competition.
Not even the spectacular figures that the Norwegian shows in the Premier League, where he has nine goals in nine games, seem enough to make Erling Haaland forget that he had not scored in the Champions Leagues since he scored against the Bayern Munich in the second leg of last season’s quarterfinals.
Erling Haaland did not score against Real Madrid in the semifinals, nor against Inter in the grand final, nor did he manage to score in the first two matches of the maximum continental competition of this season against the Leipzig and the Red Star.
A circumstance that seemed to weigh on the Norwegian attacker, who did everything well, except the most important thing for a “predator” in the area, scoring.
It was not for lack of opportunities since in the 23rd minute, after winning the back of the Young Boys defense very well, they wasted a good deep ball with an excessively crossed shot.
Erling Haaland did not resolve better in his next opportunity, a cross from the left wing of Jack Grealish which the Nordic international tried to finish with a failed acrobatic shot.
A lack of efficiency that seemed to be transferred to the rest of the Manchester City players who were not able to convert any of the good chances they generated in a first half in which Pep Guardiola’s men, as is their custom, monopolized possession of the ball .
But sometimes the mistake of the visiting forwards and other times, the majority, the good work of the Swiss goalkeeper Anthony Racioppiwhich deprived the young Belgian winger twice Jeremy Doku of the goal with two impressive interventions, they prevented the scoreboard from moving.
An Anthony Racioppi who dressed as a hero again in the last minute of the first half in a shot from Rodri which made clear the numerous problems in defending set pieces.
Circumstance that Manchester City exploded three minutes into the second half in an action in which the Swiss center back of the English team, Manuel Akanjidid not waste a ball rejected by the crossbar after a new save by Anthony Racioppi on a header from Ruben Dias to establish 0-1.
A goal that seemed to guarantee a peaceful night for Pep Guardiola’s men, who, however, four minutes later found themselves immersed in an unexpected problem, after seeing how the Congolese Meschack Elia tied the match (1-1), after resolving a brilliant counterattack with a sensational Vaseline.
A tie that led to the best moments of Young Boys who, emboldened by the equalizer, looked for the goal of a Manchester City team unable to assimilate what had happened in the match as it had never done before.
A perplexity from which the Spanish midfielder Rodri was in charge of rescuing the English team, victim in the 65th minute of an unnecessary penalty by Mohamed Camara, which the Norwegian Erling Haaland was in charge of converting into the momentary 1-2.
It was not the best penalty shot, since goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi even seemed to touch the ball, but the power of the shot made it impossible for the ball not to end in a goal, ending the Nordic team’s scoring “drought” in the top continental competition.
A complete relief for Erling Haaland, who despite the fact that he again misresolved two new opportunities that he had, with four minutes remaining he demonstrated the reason for his status as one of the best strikers in the world with a sensational shot that meant the final 1 -3.
The post first appeared on espndeportes.espn.com