[24/25 PL 24R 리뷰] 대역전 성공한 맨시티, 다음 상대는 레알이나 바이에른 | OneFootball

City secured a place in the UEFA Champions League play-offs after a second half comeback saw us beat Club Brugge 3-1 in our final league stage clash.

With a victory needed to avoid an early exit, Pep Guardiola’s side were on the front foot from the early stages but fell behind on the stroke of half-time when Raphael Onyedika stunned the Etihad Stadium.

City were level eight minutes after the restart with a superb solo goal from Mateo Kovacic before Joel Ordonez turned Josko Gvardiol’s cross into his own net.

And the nerves were settled further when Savinho added a third with an excellent control and finish from John Stones’ perfect cross-ball.

Victory secured a place in the top 24 and we will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich for a place in the last-16.

WHAT HAPPENED

The equation ahead of kick-off was simple for the Blues, only a win would be enough to make it through to the play-off stages.

With the new league format throwing up a huge clash early in the competition, there was a mixed atmosphere of anticipation and anxiety as the game got under way.

Club Brugge needed a point to be certain of a place for themselves and showed an early threat on the break with Christos Tzolis and then Chemsdine Talbi escaping beyond the City defence although they failed to create a shooting opportunity.

The game soon settled into a patient pattern of City pushing the visitors back deeper with Phil Foden flashing the first attempt wide of the goal.

And Ilkay Gundogan thought he had put the Blues ahead after quarter of an hour with a neat first-time finish from Bernardo Silva’s flick-on only for the German to be flagged offside.

With the ball, Stones was pushing high up, sometimes going beyond the midfielders, as City try to overwhelm the Belgian side who were defending in numbers.

Bernardo and Kevin De Bruyne were off target with efforts from the edge of the box as the Blues continued to push for an opener against a well-organised side that had conceded just twice in their previous four Champions League games.

The perilous position was made more acute on the occasions Brugge tried to break with Ederson alert to a high ball over the top and making a smart save from Ardon Jashari.

And it was from another quick counter-attack that the visitors took the lead just before half-time, with a cross deflecting into the path of Onyedika to rifle home an opener.

Needing two goals to progress, Pep Guardiola immediately went on the attack with Savinho replacing Gundogan for the restart and Foden moving in from the left wing.

The Brazilian made an instant impact, forcing two early corners, and from the second De Bruyne picked out Stones but his header was agonisingly inches past the post.

Foden curled an effort off-target as City continued to pile forward and we were level eight minutes after the restart through a brilliant individual goal from Kovacic.

The midfielder picked the ball up in his own half, drove at the Brugge defence, who backed off as he sidefooted a low shot into the bottom corner.

While the momentum was with City, Brugge stuck to their gameplan of playing on the break and Tzolis caused some panic as he brought a good save from Ederson, although he was later flagged offside, and dragging another effort wide.

De Bruyne, meanwhile, forced a good save from former Belgium international teammate Simon Mignolet before hitting a volley just wide.

But City finally got a slice of luck just after the hour when Gvardiol and Savinho’s neat one-two put the full-back into a dangerous position and his sharp pull-back was turned into his own net by Ordonez.

The home side kept pushing for a third which could kill off the tie; Kovacic’s dipping shot landing on the roof of the net before Erling Haaland created a chance for himself that was well-saved by Mignolet and Savinho’s follow-up was cleared off the line.

It finally came when Savinho clever run in behind saw him picked out by Stones and his instant strike beat the former Liverpool goalkeeper.

Results elsewhere meant that Brugge were also into the play-offs and the visiting fans were celebrating too when the final whistle went.

TEAMS

CITY: Ederson, Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan (Savinho 46), De Bruyne (Lewis 81), Bernardo, Foden, Haaland.

Subs not used: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Grealish, Wright, Alleyne, O’Reilly, McAtee

CLUB BRUGGE: Mignolet, De Cuyper, Ordonez, Mechele, Seys, Onyedika, Vanaken, Jashari, Tzolis (Vetlesen 70), Talbi (Skoras 70), Jutgla (Vermant 71).

Subs not used: Romero, Van de Heuvel, Nilsson, Nielsen, Jackers, Siquet, Spileers, Sabbe.

STAR MAN

Kovacic's wonderful piece of individual magic was the turning point as his equaliser turned the game around.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, an early second half goal would change the impetus of the game and it was exactly what the Croatian provided.

Brugge's defenders may regret backing away to the edge of the box but it was a driving run that had them backpeddling and a controlled finish gave the despairing Mignolet no chance.

It was a precious moment that brought the Etihad to its feet and Kovacic was instrumental in helping City complete the job and claiming the three points required.

Way through

After getting used to qualifying through the group stages with seeming ease in recent times, City have certainly found it harder this year.

Guardiola, though, has never taken qualification for the knockout stages for granted and in previous seasons has always said it was the first achievement of the campaign to make it out safely.

A new format has pushed that milestone back to January and also given some impetus to teams that may have struggled into the old group format.

Club Brugge were comfortably beaten home and away in our previous meetings four years ago, but had every reason to make it an uncomfortable night for the Blues.

Well-organised and dangerous on the counter-attack, City overcame tricky opponents with a stylish second half display.

Traditional heavyweights Real Madrid and Bayern Munich lie in wait next and Europe is proving to be another thrill ride for City.

Pep Guardiola reaction

“In the second half we lifted our soul and our hearts were free. For today we are in the next round, that's good. The first half was so academic, we didn't have the spark to do it against a team that defends really well.

“Going to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid will be really tough but it's in two weeks and in two weeks we have a few players back, the new signings back, so hopefully we can do two good games.”

KOVACIC reaction

"Every game in the Champions League is a tough one. We are through which is the most important, it was a tough group stage for us.

"Whoever comes next will be difficult so it doesn't matter. We conceded in the first half but we are happy that we could score and win this game and in the end we were half."

What it means

Victory means that City finished the league phase in 22nd place and will go into the draw for the play-off stages of the Champions League.

We will face either current holders Real Madrid or German club Bayern Munich in the league play-off phase for a place in the last-16.

The draw will be made on Friday 31 January at 11:00 (UK) and we will have all the details on mancity.com and our official Man City app as soon as it’s made.

What’s next

We return to Premier League action on Sunday with a clash against Arsenal at the Emirates at 16:30 (UK).

Both teams are currently in the top four and a victory for City would cut the deficit to three points on the second-placed Gunners.