UCL
Manchester City

Manchester City v Club Brugge - as it happened

Hurria Butt 1 day ago 13.7k |

Reading time: minutes

Man City v Club Brugge, matchday 8, 2024/25 Champions League, 29/01/2025, lineups. BeSoccer
Man City v Club Brugge, matchday 8, 2024/25 Champions League, 29/01/2025, lineups. BeSoccer
Join us for LIVE coverage of the Champions League showdown between Man City and Club Brugge, kick-off at 21:00 CET at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England. Pep Guardiola's men face a must-win clash against the Belgians as defeat would condemn them to elimination.
Goal

List of goalscorers

0 - 1
45'
R. Onyedika
Mateo Kovačić
53'
1 - 1
Joel Ordóñez
62'
2 - 1
Savinho
77'
3 - 1
Press

Match report in news

End of match

End of match

  • 90+2'
    FT: Man City 3-1 Club Brugge. The defending Premier League champions thought they were heading into the break on level terms but Onyedika broke the deadlock on the brink of the half-time whistle. Defeat would've condemned Pep Guardiola's side to a shocking exit from the Champions League before the knockout stages, but three goals in the second half from Kovacic, Savinho and Ordonez, who scored in his own net, means that Man City are through into the playoffs.
  • 90'
    One minute of extra time separates Man City from a place into the knockout stages!!
  • 89'
    Only extra time left for City, surely they are through into the Champions League playoffs!
  • 84'
    Savinho's low cross was looking for Haaland but it is too deep for the Norwegian and it ends on the opposite end for Nunes.
  • 83'
    Seven minutes plus added time left. Have City sealed it?
Substitution

Substitution

at Manchester City
  • 81'
    Kevin de Bruyne makes way for Rico Lewis.
Goal
Goaaaaaal!
de Manchester City en el 77'
  • 77'
    GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL SAVINHO MAKES IT 3-1!!! Beautiful long pass from Stones and an even better control from the Brazilian to bring down the ball with his chest before pushing the ball past Mignolet. Two-goal cushion and Pep Guardiola can breathe!
  • 73'
    MASSIVE SAVE FROM MIGNOLET AND THEN INCREDIBLE GOAL LINE CLEARANCE FROM MECHELE!!! De Bruyne had the first chance but the Belgian keeper did well to come off his lines and close the door on his international teammate. Savinho tried to put the ball in the back of the net from the rebound but Mechele somehow managed to clear it off the line. City are extremely unlucky not to have scored there!
  • 72'
    KOVACIC'S SHOT ALMOST WENT IN!!! The Croatian playmaker's strike was just over the crossbar but despite his calls for a deflection, referee says it is a goalkick.
  • 71'
    One more change for the visitors as Jutgla is replaced by Vermant.
Substitution

Substitution

at Club Brugge
Substitution

Substitution

at Club Brugge
Substitution

Substitution

at Club Brugge
  • 70'
    Two changes for Club Brugge: Tzolis and Talbi OFF. Skoras and Vetlesen ON.
  • 69'
    BIG SAVE FROM EDERSON ON TALBI!! The Brazilian gets down to keep the ball from going his near post and send it out for a Brugge corner.
  • 67'
    Savinho's entrance has really made a difference for Pep Guardiola's side. He has given the team much more pace and posed more threat.
  • 65'
    Foden gets down in the penalty box after coming into contact with Machele but referee says it is not a penalty.
  • 64'
    Foul from Onyedika on De Bruyne.
Own goal

Own goal

de Club Brugge en el 62'
  • 62'
    ORDONEZ'S OWN GOAL PUTS CITY AHEAD!!! Savinho feeds Gvardiol on the left-hand side of the box and the Croatian's low cross in touched by Ordonez into his own net. This could be crucial for Pep's men. 2-1!
  • 60'
    TZOLIS ALMOST GAVE BRUGGE THE LEAD!!! His low drive from range had beaten Ederson, who was left standing still, but it is just wide.
  • 59'
    MIGNOLET DENIES DE BRUYNE!! The ball was struck well and with power but the Belgian keeper did well to get down and push it away from goal.
  • 58'
    Haaland gets a corner for his side as Mechele is the last man to touch the ball. Foden to take it.
  • 56'
    EDERSON GETS A SAVE ON TZOLIS' SHOT!! The strike did not look threatening but the keeper did not feel comfortable catching as he got down to push it away instead.
  • 55'
    Brugge had a massive chance with Tzolis as City players were waiting for the offside flag to be raised. Fundamental work in defence from Gvardiol to keep the striker with his back towards the goal. That was close!
Goal
Goaaaaaal!
de Manchester City en el 53'
  • 53'
    GOALLLLLLLLLLLL KOVACIC LEVELS FOR CITY!!! He did this one all by himself, running with the ball at his feet from the middle of the park before releasing it into the bottom corner. 1-1 and City are back in it!
  • 52'
    Foden attempts a curler from range but it is far off from Mignolet's goal.
  • 52'
    Brugge were looking dangerous on the counter once again but Tzolis slips to give away the ball.
  • 50'
    Game was briefly paused as two balls were on the pitch. Mignolet resumes from goal.
  • 48'
    INCREDIBLE CHANCE FOR STONES TO EQUALISE!! Pinpoint cross from Savinho to find the English defender, who was free in front of goal, but somehow he did not even head the ball on target. This was City's best chance of the game so far!
  • 47'
    Second corner won by Savinho.
  • 47'
    Let's see if City are able to find the equaliser in this second half.
  • 46'
    Seys gives away a corner to City.
Substitution

Substitution

at Manchester City
  • 46'
    One change at half-time: Savinho comes on to replace Gundogan for Man City.
  • 46'
    Second half is underwayyyyyyyyy!!
  • 45+2'
    HT: Manchester City 0-1 Club Brugge. Pep Guardiola's side thought they were heading into the break on level terms but Onyedika broke the deadlock on the brink of the half-time whistle. Should the scoreline stay like this at full-time, Man City would be ELIMINATED from the Champions League.
Goal
Goaaaaaal!
de Club Brugge en el 45'
  • 45'
    GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL BRUGGE HAVE BROKEN THE DEADLOCK WITH ONYEDIKA!!! Deadly counter from the Belgian side as Jutgla charges on the left flank before feeding Onyedika on the opposite side and all he has to do is seal the ball in the back of the net. 0-1 and City are in trouble!
  • 44'
    Still goalless as we approach the half-time whistle.
  • 41'
    JASHARI HITS A LOW DRIVE AT EDERSON!! The space to hit the shot was there but it didn't have whip nor power to threaten the Brazilian keeper.
  • 40'
    Bernardo stretches to block De Cuyper's cross aimed towards Tzolis.
  • 39'
    Bernardo Silva launches a cross looking for Haaland but the striker is not able to reach it despite his extremely high jump.
  • 38'
    Flag is raised as Tzolis is found in an offside position.
  • 36'
    IMPORTANT BLOCK FROM AKANJI ON TZOLIS' SHOT!! The No.8's curler looked to be going towards the top corner but it was met by Akanji's face, deflecting the ball onto the right flank of the pitch.
  • 34'
    Foden's squared pass to Haaland looked promising but the Norwegian went behind the Brugge defender expecting a cross.
  • 32'
    Gvardiol gives away a cheap ball in attack to break City's momentum.
  • 30'
    Foul from Nunes in attack as he brings down Tzolis while chasing De Bruyne's pass into the box.
  • 29'
    City are now slowly growing. Before they just held possession without posing any threat but they're starting to create more and more chances. Let's see if they can find the opener.
  • 27'
    Foden tries to cross the ball looking for Gundogan in the middle but Mignolet is out to catch the ball before it can get to the German midfielder.
  • 25'
    DE BRUYNE SHOOTS WITH POWER AT GOAL!! It was him and Haaland breaking on the counter but the Belgian skipper preferred shooting directly from range. The ball is way off the target.
  • 24'
    BERNARDO TRIES TO CURL IT IN!! The Portuguese was perfectly set up by De Bruyne with a ball just outside the box but his curler goes wide.
  • 23'
    Foul from Nunes on Tzolis.
  • 22'
    Great tackle from Kovacic on Jashari to win the ball back for City.
  • 21'
    De Bruyne fires a powerful shot from range but it is blocked by his teammate Haaland.
  • 20'
    CHANCE FOR HAALAND TO SCORE!! The Norwegian could've gotten his 250 club goal but former Liverpool keeper Mignolet gets a good save to deny him.
  • 19'
    Mechele gets the ball back by winning Brugge a throw-in.
  • 17'
    Foul from Kovacic on Jashari.
Goal disallowed

Goal disallowed

  • 16'
    GUNDOGAN THOUGHT HE HAD SCORED BUT THE LINESMAN RAISES HIS FLAG TO SIGNAL FOR AN OFFSIDE!!
  • 14'
    FODEN'S SHOT IS NOT FAR OFF!! The Englishman firest from the left-hand side looking for the top corner at the near post but the ball is wide and out for a goal kick.
  • 12'
    De Bruyne's shot is blocked by Ordonez and out for a City corner.
  • 12'
    Mechele gets a light shove on Gundogan inside the penalty box but it is not enough for the referee to intervene.
  • 11'
    Talbi's cross from the right flank is caught by Ederson with ease as no Brugge men were in the box.
  • 9'
    Bernardo Silva holding a lot of the ball in these opening minutes but Brugge look composed in defence as City struggle to break in.
  • 8'
    Corner is headed away but the ball is still with Pep's men.
  • 7'
    City get the first corner of the game as Foden wins it for his side.
  • 6'
    The hosts looking vulnerable once again as Brugge get on the counter-attack with Talbi. Fortunately for City, his cross from the right flank was easily collected by Ederson.
  • 5'
    City once again with possession of the ball but they are not able to enter the Belgian's penalty area with threat.
  • 3'
    Brugge get the ball back and hit the counter with Tzolis, who squares the ball in the box to Talbi to shoot but Gvardiol gets an important deflection to undermine the threat.
  • 2'
    City passing the ball around as Brugge players are squeezed into their own half.
  • 1'
    City immediately get the ball back as Gvardiol does well to hold back the Brugge player and let the ball go out for a throw-in.
  • 1'
    Underway at the Etihad for Man City-Club Brugge!!
Start of match

Start of match

  • PRVW
    Players are out of the tunnel, here we goooooooooo!!
  • PRVW
    Off with the light show ahead of kick-off!!
  • PRVW
    If Erlin Haaland scores tonight he will reach 250 club goals in his career. 20 with Molde, 29 with Salzburg, 86 with Dortmund and currently 114 for Man City. One more left, can he do it?
  • PRVW
    With the fire fully put out, here's what its aftermath looks like:
  • PRVW
    There should be no delays to kick-off. The match will be played at 21:00 CET despite the earlier fires.
  • PRVW
    On the bench for Nicky Hayen's side: van den Heuvel, Jackers, Romero, Siquet, Spileers, Sabbe, Vetlesen, Nielsen, Nilsson, Skoras, Vermant.
  • PRVW
    Club Brugge starting lineup (4-3-3): Mignolet (GK); Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Onyedika, Vanaken; Talbi, Jutgla, Tzolis.
  • PRVW
    On the bench for Pep Guardiola's side: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Grealish, Savinho, Wright, Alleyne, O'Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
  • PRVW
    Man City starting lineup (4-1-4-1): Ederson (GK); Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Gundogan, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
  • PRVW
    We have the confirmed starting XIs!! Let's see what they're saying, starting as always with the hosts...
  • PRVW
    Joe Bray reports that Man City have taken a different route into the stadium as opposed to the usual West Reception due to the earlier fires. The team bus has gone into the Etihad through the tunnel under the stadium.
  • PRVW
    "Emergency services are present at the scene and the fire has now been extinguished. The safety of all attending the match tonight is our top priority, and as such all events planned for the West Stand reception have been cancelled, including the welcome event for new players, and the first team arrival," reads the statement.
  • PRVW
    Man City have released a statement on the matter via their official X account, formerly known as Twitter. "Manchester City FC can confirm that there has been a fire in one of the outside merchandise kiosks, located near the entrance to the Colin Bell West Stand.
  • PRVW
    It is understood that the Man City squad is due to arrive in 10 minutes as the unveiling event with Marmous, Khusanov and Reis has been cancelled due to the fire. There is no news of a potential delay as things stand.
  • PRVW
    Fans are reportedly making their way back into the west reception of the stadium after the fire was cleared. We will follow with more updates as the situation unfolds.
  • PRVW
    A fire has broken out at the Etihad with less than two hours left until kick-off. The stadium has reportedly been evacuated after a gas canister caught fire.
  • PRVW
    Club Brugge possible lineup (4-1-4-1): Mignolet (GK); Sabbe, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari; Skoras, Vetlesen, Vanaken, Tzolis; Nilsson.
  • PRVW
    Man City possible lineup (4-3-3): Ederson (GK); Nunes, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Kovacic, Silva; Foden, Haaland, Savinho.
  • PRVW
    With that all settled, let's warm things up with some possible lineups!!!
  • PRVW
    On the other hand, Club Brugge's only concern is skipper Hans Vanaken after he missed the 1-1 draw with Kortrijk at the weekend due to illness. His absence would be a big miss for the Belgian after scoring eight goals and providing ten assists in all competitions this season.
  • PRVW
    Norway midfielder Oscar Bobb is in contention to feature against Club Brugge for the first time since August while Rodri remains the only long-term absentee for City.
  • PRVW
    Manchester City will be deprived of Jeremy Doku's services after Guardiola confirmed the Belgian winger would be out for a while. Ake is unlikely to feature midweek having been absent since the collapse against Brentford while John Stones is set to return to the starting XI after Abdukodir Khusanov's difficult debut against Chelsea last weekend (the Uzbek is ineligible to feature).
  • PRVW
    Let's have a look at team news before we move on to some possible lineups!!!
  • PRVW
    Sitting in 25th place in the league-phase standings, Man City find (8) themselves three points below their Belgian opponents (11). Stuttgart occupy the last remaining qualifying spot (24th) and sit two points ahead of the English side, meaning a draw will not suffice. Here's how the full table looks:
  • PRVW
    The 54-year-old Catalan said he had faith the pressure of the situation would bring out the best in his players. "I know they want it, I know how focused they are, and I don't have doubts that we will perform what we have to do to go through, but with football, you never know," he concluded.
  • PRVW
    The City boss added: "It's not a problem, it's an opportunity, a challenge, and we will face it. I expect a tough opponent. When a team is 20 games unbeaten (the run is 21) it is because they are good. There are no secrets about that. They beat Aston Villa, (against) Juventus, Milan they played good. Celtic... they did really well. Different variations in the build-up. We have to read well what we have to do. But every team - Manchester City included - has weaknesses. You have to find them and p
  • PRVW
    But Guardiola did not want to speak on the potential consequences of an early exit during a pre-match press conference on Tuesday as he said: "Of course, I'm not naive enough to know how important it is financially for the club to go through in this competition, but sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't," he said. "But, of course, we want to try to go through, especially for sporting reasons."
  • PRVW
    Despite their issues, a possible elimination of the Citizens will be seen as a huge advantage to European competitors. With all matches kicking off on the same day and at the same hour, top clubs will keep an eye on the events at the Etihad Stadium hoping City do not scrape through only to hit their stride in the knockout phase. Bookmakers still have them as sixth favourites for the competition behind Liverpool, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
  • PRVW
    More than £120 million has already been splashed on Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush and young defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov. However, that trio will not be able to help against Belgian champions Brugge, who have not lost in 21 games in all competitions, as they are not eligible for this stage of the Champions League.
  • PRVW
    Former captain Kyle Walker shocked the club with a request to leave earlier this month before joining AC Milan on loan. All of which has forced City to rip up their initial plans and spend big in the January transfer window.
  • PRVW
    The Sky Bleus have been heavily hampered by injury woes this term. The loss of Ballon d'Or winner Rodri to a season-ending knee injury in September has been a devastating blow and compounded by a series of fitness issues at centre-back, where Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and John Stones have all missed large chunks of the campaign.
  • PRVW
    Guardiola now faces one of the most testing moments of his entire career. Anything but a win tonight will see City eliminated from the tournament, marking the first time the Catalan boss has to reach the Champions League knockout stages in his career as a manager.
  • PRVW
    City's horrific run of just one win in 13 games in all competitions from October to December threatened to derail their entire season. Although they appeared to have turned a corner in the league, climbing back into the top four after winning four of their past five games, lingering problems were exposed last week as PSG battled back from 2-0 down to inflict a damaging 4-2 defeat on the 2023 European champions.
  • PRVW
    The Premier League champions must beat last season's Belgian league winners at the Etihad to progress to the play-off stage, involving teams ranked from ninth to 24th in the league phase. The top eight teams automatically qualify for the round of 16, but that target is long gone for City.
Info

Pre-match

29 January 2025, 21:00

Referee: Sánchez Martínez | VAR: Hernández Hernández

Stadium: Etihad Stadium

  • PRVW
    Hello everyone and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Champions League showdown between Man City and Club Brugge, kick-off at 21:00 CET at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England.