Hoffenheim 1-2 Manchester City
Manchester City earned their first win of this Champions League campaign thanks to a late winner from David Silva.
The Sky Blues had to come from behind after Ishak Belfodil gave the hosts a shock lead before Sergio Aguero equalised. The Hoffenheim defence thought they had a point until the 87th-minute winner broke their hearts.
City’s opening game against Lyon was something of a letdown, casting doubts yet again on their European credentials, and questions would have been asked if they hadn’t won here. But in another pulsating night for SBOBET Champions League fans, this game was a cracking opener, particularly for the Sky Blues.
It was hard to take for Julien Nagelsmann’s men, but the Champions League 2018 odds still had Pep Guardiola’s side as tournament favourites before the kick-off, and they might just have kept that honour.
Highlights of the game
Hoping against hope for their first Champions League win, I bet the Hoffenheim fans couldn’t believe their eyes as the players took their first touches. Not many had seen the ball when Kerem Demirbay slid it through for Ishak Belfodil. The striker, cool as you like, slotted the ball home with less than a minute on the clock. What a start!
The hosts have been beset by injury problems this season and were without skipper Kevin Vogt; his giant presence was always going to be missed. And before the home fans had a chance to wonder how long they could hang on to their lead, the Sky Blues were level. David Silva found Leroy Sane with a beautiful pass down the left, and the wide man pulled the ball back for Sergio Aguero, who wrong-footed two defenders before firing the equaliser.
Then it was all City. Silva was at the centre of much of the forward play, dictating the pace and launching attacks. The two centre-backs Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi both came close with headers, and then keeper Oliver Baumann, captain for the night, made an exceptional save as Aguero tried to curl one into the top corner.
Hoffenheim looked like they’d make the break level, and they had a wonderful chance to go ahead when Aymeric Laporte played a woeful back pass into the path of Belfodil, who was only denied his second goal by a brave block from Ederson. Laporte was a lucky boy!
The hosts came out for the second half as they did the first, on the front foot: Belfodil was again in on goal but put his effort wide. At the other end, Silva almost got on the end of a cross from Laporte, but the Hoffenheim backline saw off the danger.
City pressed for a winner and Baumann performed some heroics, somehow getting across to stop an Aguero header after Bernardo Silva had crossed. And then the keeper got away with one, racing off his line he wiped out the advancing Leroy Sane and waited for the inevitable card and penalty award.
Neither came and now the home fans began to believe it might be their night. But City had other ideas and continued to press and, eventually, got their reward on 87 minutes. Bernardo Silva put another fine ball into the box, and man-of-the-match Silva controlled expertly before slotting it past the helpless Baumann.
Key statistics
The Sky Blues had the shock of their lives after 44 seconds of this game but settled themselves to equalise quickly. But despite dominating the first half, with 67 per cent possession and eight shots to two, they couldn’t get their noses in front before the break.
The shot count ended up at 15 to five, but City had to wait until the 87th minute to find a winner. After conceding a late equaliser in their first Champions League match, that was cruel on Hoffenheim, and it means they have only won one out of ten matches played in Europe.
Aguero is only the second Premier League player to score in five consecutive away Champions League games, following Ruud Van Nistelrooy from the red side of Manchester.
What’s next?
As Group F begins to take some shape, Hoffenheim’s next match is at home to Lyon, conquerors of Manchester City. But first, Julien Nagelmann will have them prepared for a home league game against Frankfurt. The winner of that match will climb into the top half of the league.
Club captain Vincent Kompany has said that the Sky Blues are determined this should be their Champions League year, and now they are back on track. Kharkiv is the next venue for Manchester City as they take on Shakhtar Donetsk, and we’ll keep the Champions League 2018 updates coming. But before all that, it’s the Premier League clash of the season so far when the champions head to Anfield to take on the biggest threat to their crown, Liverpool.
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