25th October, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Erling Haaland scored a brace on Wednesday as Manchester City thrashed Young Boys 3-1 to stay on top of Group G with a perfect start.
Manuel Akanji put City ahead on 48 minutes after a goalless first half. He slotted the ball into an unguarded net from close range after a shot rebounded off a defender.
Young Boys equalised three minutes later. Cheikh Niasse found Meschack Elia on the edge of the area, he timed his run to perfection and beautifully chipped the ball over the goalkeeper.
City were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute. Anthony Racioppi got a hand on the penalty from Erling Haaland but could not stop it from flying inside the right post to give the visitors a 1-2 lead.
Haaland got his brace in the 84th minute to make it 1-3 for City. Rodri fed the ball through to Haaland, who picked up the pass inside the box and quickly sent it into the top right corner.
In added time, Julian Alvarez ran onto a loose pass inside the box and released a tremendous shot towards the left side of the goal. However, Anthony Racioppi anticipated the shot and made a brilliant save.
