Sergio Agüero put Manchester City on his back and led his side to a come from behind 3-2 win over Bayern Munich. The Argentine striker scored three times, including two in the final five minutes to secure an incredible comeback victory against a Bayern side that had spent nearly 70 minutes a man down.
3 things we learned from Manchester City’s 3-2 comeback win over Bayern Munich
Sergio Agüero’s hat trick led City to a come from behind victory over 10-man Bayern Munich.
Agüero made a nuisance of himself in the 20th minute, breaking free behind the Bayern defense and forcing a rash and clumsy challenge from Mehdi Benatia just inside the 18-yard box. The referee took a moment to confer with his assistant before pointing at the spot, awarding City a penalty. In addition, he showed Benatia a straight red card for a denial of goal scoring opportunity.
Agüero stepped up and beat Manuel Neuer on the penalty to give City the 1-0 lead. The goal is just the second conceded by the Germans so far in this year's Champions League.
Despite being a man down Bayern looked good as the first half progressed and in the 40th minute Xabi Alonso took advantage of a free kick to even the match. Alonso's low rolling shot went right of the wall as City players got muscled away from guarding the post. Joe Hart was left standing on the other side, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration as the ball went right through where his defenders should've been.
Champions League
Just before the halftime break Bayern struck again when Robert Lewandowski sent a looping header up and over Hart. Lewandowski got free from Vincent Kompany, allowing the Polish striker to break in on Jerome Boateng's cross and easily out maneuver Bacary Sagna to get the shot on goal.
Just when it looked like City were doomed to suffer yet another defeat, Xabi Alonso made a risky pass that was intercepted in the midfield by Stevan Jovetić. The midfielder touched the ball down out of the air, directing it towards Agüero who raced forward and beat Neuer to his left, hitting the ball off the inside of the post.
Minutes later Agüero pounced on another Bayern mistake to put City in front for good at 3-2. Boateng completely misplayed a back pass on the edge of the box, allowing Agüero break in on Neuer and beat the Bayern keeper for the third time on the day.
Manchester City: Hart, Clichy, Mangala, Kompany, Sagna (Zabaleta 68’), Milner (Jovetić 66’), Fernando, Nasri, Lampard, Navas, Agüero (Demichelis 93’)
Goals: Agüero (21’, 85’, 90’+1)
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Berndt, Boateng, Benatia (red card 20’), Rafinha, Rode (Dante 25’), Xabi, Højbjerg, Ribéry (Schweinsteiger 80’), Lewandowski, (Shaqiri 83’) Robben
Goals: Xabi (40’), Lewandowski (45’)
3 things
1. City are better with Agüero playing - This is not necessarily a new idea, but Tuesday’s match against Bayern served as a reminder of how important it is for the Argentine striker to be on the pitch. He made a great play on the long ball that led to the penalty, keeping the ball away from Benatia and forcing the defender to comes across his body to try and make a play. His second goal was a wonderful combination of speed and skill as he took advantage of a massive mistake by Bayern.
2. City and Bayern are both good at taking advantage of mistakes - Both Bayern goals were avoidable, as were two of City's three. On Bayern's first goal the wall was out of position and Kompany forgot to pick-up Lewandowski's run on the second. Both of Agüero's late goals came off mistakes by Bayern, with Alonso's ill advised pass and the defender's misplay on a pass the culprits that created the chances.
3. Are Bayern already missing Philipp Lahm? - There's no way that Lahm could've prevented the mistakes that led to City's two late goals, but after Bayern controlled the match despite being a man down for most of the night, they came apart late. Did not having Lahm out there hurt? Could his influence have helped the team stay focused and avoid those late mistakes? Maybe playing so long with 10 men just led to mental fatigue.
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