LAST UPDATE | 17 Oct 2017
MANY PEOPLE SEE them as the two best teams in Europe right now so it was little wonder that there was so much expectation surrounding Manchester City hosting Napoli at the Etihad Stadium in their Champions League group-stage clash this evening.
Leading their respective leagues, the teams also possess two managers who sing from the same hymn sheet. Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri are obsessed by controlling possession and encouraging spacial awareness in their players.
But, for much of the game, it was a completely one-sided affair.
The home side were simply irresistible in the first-half, following on from their 7-2 demolition of Stoke City at the weekend.
They scored twice in four minutes, through Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus but their dominance extended far beyond the scoreline.
#ManCity also in control as De Bruyne's lovely ball sets up Gabriel Jesus for the easy tap in #ManCityNapoli pic.twitter.com/7Y3JHdEr9d
— dave (@DesTaquito1) October 17, 2017
Guardiola’s side squeezed and asphyxiated their Italian guests while creating a litany of chances.
Kevin de Bruyne was superb, setting up Jesus for City’s second, but was also incredibly unlucky not to find the net as his curling, left-footed strike crashed down off the underside of the crossbar but fell short of crossing the line.
Shortly after, Jesus was denied his brace as a Napoli somehow cleared his shot off the line, after it seemed set to roll to the net.
Napoli struggled to offer anything in response but, against the run of play, they had the chance to cut the deficit when Kyle Walker brought down Raul Albiol in the area. But, Dries Mertens saw his penalty saved by Ederson and it remained 2-0 at the break.
The second-half was different and as City failed to find a third, Napoli remained in the game.
They gave themselves a chance of rescuing something when they were awarded a second penalty with 17 minutes left. This time, Amadou Diawara stepped up and made no mistake.
However, the home side did what they had to do in the closing stages, grinding things out in a stark contrast to their opening period performance.
But, it means City’s 100% record remains intact after three group games and their excellent form continues.
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