Manchester City 2, Napoli 0 – Player Ratings
Goals by Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku won this game for Manchester City after Napoli were reduced to 10 men following the first half sending off of Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
City legend Kevin De Bruyne was withdrawn by the Italian champions as Napoli tried to shore up after losing their captain after just 22 minutes following a VAR check.
It meant that De Bruyne’s fond reunion with Manchester City fans was sadly cut short as City were made to work for their win against Antonio Conte’s side.
Embed from Getty ImagesPLAYER RATINGS – Manchester City 2, Napoli 0
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6. Great save from Sam Beukema to keep the scores level otherwise relatively quiet night after Napoli went down to 10.
Abdudokir Khusanov: 6. Another committed physical display for the young defender. Denied the experienced Leonardo Spinazzola a chance to cross in and put a few fast balls into the box himself. Came to the rescue as Scott McTominay looked to get onto a loose ball.
Ruben Dias: 6. Tasked with looking after Rasmus Hojlund but not averse to putting the odd ball into the box.
Josko Gvardiol: 7. Watchful display at the back. Some chances to attack as well.
Nico O’Reilly: 6. Had a header saved. Moved forward into midfield more when Napoli were reduced to 10 men and he popped up in attack to distract Napoli defenders while Jeremy Doku’s solo goal doubled the City lead.
Rodri: 6. Cruised around the midfield distributing the ball, even easier after Kevin De Bruyne was substituted off. Had a shot saved as City tried to break the deadlock against the ten men of Napoli. Mopped up what little attack Napoli had and a great shot in first half injury time was blocked on the line by Matteo Politano leaving Vanja Milinkovic-Savic to stop it on the line.
Bernardo Silva (C): 7. Knitted things together well. Showed experience to calm things despite City struggling to break down Napoli once they had gone down to 10 men.
Tijjani Reijnders: 7. Energetic display. A rising shot from the edge of the area brought a great save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Free kick blocked by the Napoli wall and a header onto the roof of the net. Set up Jeremy Doku for his goal.
Phil Foden: 8. Carried on his good form from the derby with plenty of movement and touches. Low shot saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Quick thinking brought a lofted ball into the area for Erling Haaland to break the deadlock.
Jeremy Doku: 8. Another front foot performance from the winger. Could have have an early goal but it was blocked. Deep lying Napoli defence thwarted him several times but a glorious run between defenders ended with a solo goal to savour – slotting him through the legs of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Erling Haaland: 7. Dangerous running onto through balls. Drew a foul from Giovanni Di Lorenzo which got the Napoli captain sent off after a VAR check. Headed a cross onto the roof of the net. Delicate header finally ended the Napoli resistance.
Nico Gonzalez (on for Rodri, 60): 6. On to give Rodri a rest.
Savinho (on for Jeremy Doku, 69): 6 Went to the left wing to replace Jeremy Doku.
Oscar Bobb (on for Erling Haaland, 80): No time to mark
Nathan Ake (on for Josko Gvardiol, 80): No time to mark
Rico Lewis (on for Tijjani Reijnders, 80): No time to mark
GOALS – Manchester City 2, Napoli 0
Man City 1, Napoli 0: 56. Delicate header by Erling Haaland broke the deadlock after he got on the end of a chipped up pass by Phil Foden.
Man City 2, Napoli 0: 65. Jeremy Doku got the ball from Tijjani Reijnders, skipped between two defenders using Nico O’Reilly as a decoy before shooting through Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s legs to double City’s lead inside the back post.
MATCH STATS – Manchester City 2, Napoli
Man City: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol (Ake 80), O’Reilly, Rodri (Gonzalez 60), Silva (C), Reijnders (Lewis 80), Foden, Doku (Savinho 69), Haaland (Bobb 80)
Man City Subs not used: Trafford, Bettinelli, Nunes, Mukasa, Mfuni
Goals: Haaland 56; Doku 65
Napoli: Milinkovic-Savic, Di Lorenzo (C), Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola, Lobotka (Gilmour 72), Politano (Jesus 55), Anguissa (Elmas 72), De Bruyne (Olivera 26), McTominay, Hojlund (Neres 72)
Napoli Subs not used: Meret, Ferrante, Gutierrez, Vergara, Lecca, Ambrosino, Lang
Red Card: Di Lorenzo 22 (last man tackle, bringing down Erling Haaland who was going clean through)
Bookings: Politano 53 (shirt pull on Jeremy Doku)
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)