By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester City kept their Champions League campaign alive by beating Belgian side Club Brugge 3-1 in a nervy must-win match on Wednesday thanks to goals from Mateo Kovacic and substitute Savinho, and a Brugge own goal.
The victory in their league-phase finale secured Pep Guardiola’s men a spot in the two-legged playoff knockout round.
Brugge stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd seconds before halftime when Ferran Jutgla beat Matheus Nunes before sending in a long cross that Raphael Onyedika smashed into the back of the net.
Mateo Kovacic levelled in the 53rd minute when he dribbled through the heart of Brugge’s defence before unleashing a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the bottom corner.
City went ahead nine minutes later when Joel Ordonez slid to block Josko Gvardiol’s cross but knocked it into the net, and then Savinho added a third in the 77th minute when John Stones played a pinpoint cross-field ball that the Brazilian chested down before firing it past keeper Simon Mignolet.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Davis)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.