Manchester City welcomed the visit of Sevilla in Group D of the Champions League as Manuel Pellegrini's men aimed to find their first home win in the competition this season.
The visitors started out the better of the two sides and they soon found an opener through Yevhen Konoplyanka, before an own goal from Adil Rami brought City level before the break.
It appeared as though Sevilla might just have done enough to take a point back to Spain, but they were thwarted late on when Kevin De Bruyne grabbed a late winner for the Sky Blues.
Here, Sports Mole runs the rule over all of the action at the Etihad.
Match statistics
MANCHESTER CITY
Shots: 16
On target: 6
Possession: 42%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 14
SEVILLA
Shots: 10
On target: 2
Possession: 58%
Corners: 12
Fouls: 4
Was the result fair?
Both sides played their part in a largely entertaining game in Manchester and both arguably deserved to take something from the contest. As things panned out it was City who were able to claim a home victory, but they had laboured and looked rather uninspiring for much of the game. Sevilla defended and attacked well and will be disappointed that they were unable to take something away from the game back to Spain.
The Spaniards exploited the hosts' defence on several occasions and had enough chances to cause an upset, having also hit the post in the first half. City continued to press for the winner despite not being able to get out of second gear, and in the end they were reliant on a piece of brilliance from De Bruyne, who has in turn kept the club's hopes of qualification firmly alive.
Manchester City's performance
City have often struggled at home in the Champions League and that is how things continued in this game. Without Vincent Kompany at the back, the hosts had to rely on some standout defending from Eliaquim Mangala to get them out of trouble on more than one occasion in the opening period. What will be particularly frustrating for Pellegrini is the number of holes that appeared in his midfield, as well as how easily City were turned over by the visitors in the first half.
Had the away side experienced a touch of luck, they could have scored three goals. That said, Wilfried Bony reacted well to help push the Manchester club level and they continued to persevere when their attacking fluidity appeared to be escaping them. Credit must also go to Pellegrini for his idea to switch De Bruyne into a more forward-facing position, leaving the makeshift striker to provide dividends with a remarkable winner late on.
Sevilla's performance
Unai Emery will be very pleased with what he saw from his side away from home and they perhaps deserved to have taken at least a point from the contest. The Spaniards attacked from the off and were clever in their build-up play from midfield. The visitors' defensive line appeared virtually unmoved for much of the game, and the only time City really looked threatening was when they were able to grab their two goals.
Things could have been a lot different at the Etihad had Kevin Gameiro been more efficient inside the City box, but the visiting fans would have been delighted with the performance that they got from Konoplyanka. Despite losing the fixture, Sevilla's performance will instil them with a great deal of confidence going into the reverse fixture at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium next month.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Kevin De Bruyne: De Bruyne was a threat from the off as he aimed to link up with his teammates in every attacking space on the pitch. The Belgian star was unable to produce the final touch on many occasions, but he stuck to his task well and was finally rewarded with the winning goal. City spent a great deal of money on the playmaker and he proved his worth by producing the perfect finish under pressure to reignite the club's push for progression into the knockout rounds.
Biggest gaffe
City keeper Joe Hart was under pressure for much of the encounter and for the most part he handled things well going into the final minutes. The keeper might just have ruined the club's celebrations, however, as he clumsily threw the ball straight back to Sevilla's attack with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. Thankfully, Aleksandar Kolarov was on hand to steal in and clear the danger at the vital moment to spare Hart's blushes.
Referee performance
Dutch referee Bas Nijhuis had little to do and he set his stall out early to enable the teams to play an expansive, attacking game with few stoppages. The official did have to make some decisions, but he made the correct calls to hand out yellow cards to Vicente Iborra, Gameiro and Bony.
What next?
Manchester City: The Sky Blues will be delighted with the victory, which now stands them in good stead for qualification from the group. Winning at home was always going to be key to their success this autumn and they eventually got over the line with an important win that might just inspire them to find some kind of improved form in the tournament.
Sevilla: Defeat in the closing stages will be hard to take for the visiting Spanish side, but they will be pleased with the performance that they put in away from home. Given how dominant they were at stages and the chances that they created, they will be confident of taking points of both City and Juventus when they make their visits to Spain.
No Data Analysis info
