Erling Haaland set a new record by being the quickest player to 50 Champions League goals as Manchester City had to fight hard in their opening game victory over Napoli.
Haaland reached the milestone in just 49 games, lofting a header in the second half to set City on their path to three points, while Kevin De Bruyne’s much-anticipated return to Etihad Stadium lasted only 26 minutes.
De Bruyne departed City in the summer after a distinguished decade and was warmly welcomed back by home fans, but his delight at returning to the city he calls “home” was short-lived.
Manager Antonio Conte sacrificed the Belgium international in the first half as captain Giovanni di Lorenzo was sent off for hauling down Haaland as the last man.
City took control of the game as predicted, but Pep Guardiola will be left wondering why his team did not lead at halftime after peppering the Napoli goal but finding inspired keeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
The Serbian made a series of outstanding stops, including denying Tijjani Reijnders’ drive, smothering Phil Foden’s low attempt, and deflecting Rodri’s well-hit volley.
In the first 45 minutes, Milinkovic-Savic also saved headers from Nico O’Reilly and Ruben Dias, as well as a shot from Reijnders that deflected off Matteo Politano.
However, 11 minutes into the second period, City made the expected breakthrough as Haaland latched onto Foden’s dinked pass and nodded in to eventually breach Milinkovic-Savic’s goal.
Jeremy Doku scored a second goal to win the victory, but former Manchester United stars Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund had disappointing performances.
