Manchester City began their 2025-26 Champions League campaign in style, romping to a 2-0 home win over a Napoli side reduced to ten men early in the first half.
The Etihad roared as City’s dominance was rewarded, Erling Haaland not only opening the scoring but also smashing a major Champions League record, while Jeremy Doku added gloss to the result with a second in the second half.
Napoli, for long periods defending bravely, were undone by a moment of indiscipline and an opponent in ruthless mood.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s red card in the 21st minute proved to be the turning point. After a last-man tackle on Haaland, a VAR review showed that Di Lorenzo had missed the ball completely, his trailing boot catching Haaland instead.
The sending-off threw Napoli’s tactical plan into chaos and forced manager Antonio Conte into a reshuffle shortly afterwards, which included an early withdrawal of Kevin De Bruyne, the former City favourite making a much-anticipated return to the Etihad.
De Bruyne was replaced by Mathías Olivera after just about 25-26 minutes in the match.
For Napoli, staying in the contest with one man down demanded all their defensive discipline, and for much of the first half that served them well. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic stood tall in goal, producing a number of impressive saves to deny the relentless City attacks.
City enjoyed overwhelming possession and peppered the Napoli goal, but Milinkovic-Savic’s reflexes and poise kept the score level at halftime.
Our #UCL campaign begins with a win!
2-0 pic.twitter.com/3S3TJyCO0D
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 18, 2025
The breakthrough came in the 56th minute. Phil Foden threaded a lovely lobbed assist which found Haaland, who met it with a header that beat the goalkeeper and surged into the net. That strike was more than just the opener: it was Haaland’s 50th Champions League goal, achieved in just 49 appearances, making him the fastest ever to reach that mark and beating the previous record held by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
At 25, Haaland is now seen as chasing the great names in European history with an astonishing goals-per-game ratio.
City did not have to wait long to double their advantage. In the 65th minute, Doku, who had already shown electric movement and craft throughout, broke free with deft footwork, weaving through Napoli’s backline in the tight spaces that opened up as the visitors pressed forward in desperation.
He coolly slotted the ball through Milinkovic-Savic to make it 2-0, putting the game to bed. From then on, City controlled the tempo, probing, stretching the play, waiting for the gaps that rarely came but which were always looming under the weight of their pressure..
Pep Guardiola was visibly pleased afterwards, praising his team’s composure and intensity, even when things looked comfortable after the sending off. “We started better than last season,” he said, referring to periods when City might have dropped off once ahead against weakened opposition, but on this night they remained relentless.
He singled out the attacking trio — Haaland, Foden, Doku — for their sharpness, and emphasised the defensive solidity which meant that, despite Napoli’s pressure and moments of transition, they were never truly in danger of conceding.
Napoli’s evening was marred by the red card but also by their inability to adapt. Conte’s side tried various means to slow City’s momentum, switching formation after the sending off, and relying heavily on organized defending and Milinkovic-Savic’s saves.
But without the right balance and with De Bruyne withdrawn early, their attacking thrusts were few and far between. They had very few clear chances all evening, and City’s pressure eventually told.
Conte admitted after the match that once down to ten men, the task was always going to be uphill, especially against a side as fluid and well-drilled as Manchester City.
De Bruyne’s return added an emotional layer to the fixture. He was met with warm applause from the fans on his introduction, reminders of his years of service to City, and the echoes of a decade past.
But his time on the pitch was cut short, first by the red card turning the game into damage control for Napoli, then by tactical necessity. Despite the premature exit, De Bruyne handled his situation with dignity, his substitution greeted with respect from the crowd.
From City’s perspective the performance underlined their status not just as favourites in the group but as serious contenders for this season’s competition. Their control of the game, the ability to press, to rotate, to create opening after opening, and yet stay defensively secure shows a team that have learned from past lapses.
For Napoli, the loss is a bitter lesson in discipline, composure, and depth. Losing Di Lorenzo so early forced them to defend for long periods, which they did admirably, but the lack of offensive threat, especially after De Bruyne was taken off, left them unable to inflict damage.