Erling Haaland settles thriller for Manchester City to end RB Leipzig resistance

Feed Erling Haaland and Manchester City’s totemic No 9 will score. The problem, recently has been a paucity of openings for him.

This was true again before, on 77 minutes, Elliot Anderson crossed and Haaland slid home for a priceless winner for Enzo Maresca’s disjointed unit, Rayan Cherki hitting a post late on.

The win ends City’s sequence of two losses in three games yet the manager has major issues. He has to plug a leaky defence and drill his midfield to exert control.

And there is a shaky Gianluigi Donnarumma: City’s goalkeeper was culpable for Ridle Baku’s first equaliser for Leipzig, as he was for Nicolas Jackson’s winner in the recent defeat at Aston Villa, plus two more in last month’s Paris Saint-Germain loss.

Still, after going down to Villa and Brighton in the Premier League, this win is a certifiable tonic ahead of Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

City’s quest to return to victorious ways featured an XI of four changes from Saturday’s Brighton reverse. Most noteworthy was Maresca’s dropping of Rúben Dias as Abdukodir Khusanov’s pace was preferred at centre-back with the captain, Haaland taking the armband.

This may have been with an eye on Antonio Nusa, Leipzig’s fleet-footed left forward, Martin Demichelis’ main ploy being to carve City open on the counter.

A cute inside Enzo Fernández pass did precisely this – to the Germans: instantly Cherki was in, his shot curving wide of Maarten Vandevoordt’s right post, a first warning of City intent.

While the 2,000-plus travelling support were stationed in a quadrant to the right of Donnarumma’s goal, the noise came from the congregation behind Vandevoordt’s where a sea of red and white bounced to the tempo of a booming drum. They could roar particularly loud when Nusa flitted across City’s D and unloaded and what should have been a regulation gather for Donnarumma became a fumble – and corner for Leipzig.

The Italian tipped this away but those in white soon, again, threatened. A break along the right closed with David Raum’s effort being blocked by Matheus Nunes, the visitors’ right-back.

As can be with this Maresca unit, control was difficult to find and administer for any prolonged passage: Phil Foden twice losing the ball when turning into traffic naively was no aid, the second time meaning Nusa could prosper, zigzagging towards goal.

The Brighton defeat featured close to zero service for Haaland and City’s 13-goal man was again hard to find, Nunes’ loose cross, when the captain lurked, emblematic. So, too, as a sign of Leipzig’s ascendancy, was Marc Guéhi scrambling to clear danger, Nusa firing in the ball from the left, and Christoph Baumgartner having space to shoot marginally wide of Donnarumma’s left post.

“Keep the ball and shift it faster” might have been Maresca’s instruction and when this happened City fashioned the breakthrough.

Cherki speared a diagonal right-left into a galloping Nico O’Reilly, whose instant cross caused Castello Lukeba to panic and inadvertently turn home, via a trailing left knee. City had forced the issue and, now, twice went close to a second moments later.

First, O’Reilly floated the ball into Leipzig’s area but Haaland’s header faltered. Then the left-back was set up by Iliman Ndiaye’s cross only for O’Reilly to miss with the same part of his anatomy, too.

Yet as the second half began Leipzig were staring at a fifth defeat in the fixture, having won only once in six previous meetings, all in this competition.

So, intent was signalled by Nusa’s mazy run along the left, his chip causing Donnarumma to push away when he might have caught. This roused the home fans and better followed for their team – but not Donnarumma.

Anderson’s loose ball for O’Reilly near halfway was snaffled by Leipzig, who marauded down the right before Brajan Gruda fed an overlapping Baku.

Now, came Donnarumma’s folly because, while the right-back’s shot was true, it was steered along a very tight angle, yet City’s No 1 allowed it to go in between him and his left post.

Here was the latest goal-costing error from the Italian and one for Maresca to ponder. Yet 1-1 was still a fair result away from the Etihad Stadium so relief emanated from those in black when Ezechiel Banzuzi’s shot hit side-netting only. Donnarumma’s wobble continued, though, as he fumbled another Baku attempt, narrowly recovering.

City were about to show character and quality: Ndiaye’s pinpoint cross from the left had Fernández arriving to head home supremely and Maresca’s team led again. Not for long. For a countless time Leipzig waltzed through with ease and with Nunes out of position, Nusa finished expertly from the left.

After Anderson skied over from close-range, Haaland did what makes him so lethal: net his sole chance.