In the final match of the Champions League group stage on the morning of January 30, Man City had an important 3-1 victory over Club Brugge.

Club Brugge almost created a shock when they opened the scoring in the first half – Photo: REUTERS

Before this match, Man City was out of the group of 24 teams and certainly did not have enough points to enter the top 8. Therefore, they had to beat Club Brugge to be able to win a ticket to participate in the Champions League play-off round this season.

Pep Guardiola’s team still started the game with dominance. However, they were ineffective. Ilkay Gundogan was slow, causing Man City’s play to miss a beat. The German player did not even move and was caught offside when he put the ball in the opponent’s net in the 16th minute.

Coach Guardiola: Man City could be eliminated in the Champions League group stage

Meanwhile, Club Brugge counterattacked sharply and unexpectedly opened the scoring in the 45th minute. Ferran Jutgla dribbled skillfully and then crossed for Raphael Onyedika to easily tap the ball in.

According to statistics in the first half, Club Brugge even had more shots with 7 times, compared to 5 of Man City.

The moment Kovacic scored the equalizer for Man City – Photo: REUTERS

In the second half, coach Pep Guardiola was forced to make adjustments when his team fell behind. Gundogan was taken off to make way for Savinho. The Brazilian played on the left wing, while Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden played more freely.

This method quickly proved effective. In the 53rd minute, Matteo Kovacic dribbled powerfully from midfield and fired a powerful shot to equalize for Man City.

Savinho appeared in the second half and changed the game by contributing 1 goal – Photo: REUTERS

In the 62nd minute, Savinho made a delicate pass for Josko Gvardiol to run down the empty space and cross. Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez fumbled and put the ball into his own net.

Man City’s sublime half was followed by Savinho’s delicate chest-kick that raised the score to 3-1 in the 77th minute. With the comeback against Club Brugge, Man City is sure to be in the group ranked from 9 to 24 in the Champions League group stage and win a ticket to the play-off round.