English professional soccer club Manchester City (Man City) came from behind to beat Leipzig (Germany) 3-2 thanks to a late Elling Holland goal.
City came from 0-2 down to beat Leipzig 3-2 in their 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group G fifth leg home match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Sept. 29 (KST).
City, who had already qualified for the round of 16, secured top spot in the group with 15 points after five matches.
Leipzig, who had also booked a spot in the round of 16, will finish second (9 points) regardless of the final result.
Leipzig took the lead in the 13th and 33rd minutes of the first half with back-to-back goals from Roy Offenda on the counterattack.
City turned the game on its head in the second half with a goal-fest.
‘Monster Goalie’ Holland scored the winning goal nine minutes into the second half, latching onto a through ball from Phil Foden and firing a right-footed shot across the face of goal.
With the goal, Holland broke the UCL record for the fastest 40-goal season.
The previous record was held by Ruth Pannisnelloy (retired), who reached 40 goals in 45 games, but Holland reached the same mark in just 35 games.
With five goals in the competition this season, Holland has moved into a tie with Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid) and Rasmus Højlund (Manchester United) for the top spot on the list.
Holland led the competition last season with 12 goals and helped City to their first title.
Foden was involved in two of City’s goals in the ensuing victory, finishing with a goal and two assists.
In the 25th minute, Foden received a pass from Josuco Gvardiol and took one touch to beat a defender before firing a left-footed shot to tie the game at 2-2.
In the 42nd minute, Foden’s cutback from the left was finished off by Julian Alvarez with a non-stop shot for the winner.
In Group H, FC Barcelona (Spain) came from behind to beat Porto (Portugal) 2-1 at home to advance to the round of 16.
With 12 points, Barcelona has a head-to-head advantage over second-place Porto and third-place Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), who both have nine points, and will finish first in the group regardless of the outcome of the final match.
This is the first time in three seasons that Barcelona has reached the round of 16 in the UCL since the 2020-2021 season, when they were eliminated in the round of 16.
Barcelona conceded an early goal through Pepe Aquino in the 30th minute, but made it 1-1 two minutes later through João Cancelo’s sharp right-footed strike after cutting in from the left.
João Felix sealed the win for Barcelona 12 minutes into the second half, finishing with his right foot from a cutback from the left. 안전놀이터