What a disappointing day! Antonio Conte's Napoli faced off against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, the reigning champions, during the UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 for the League Phase on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The Italian champions went up against one of the strongest teams in the world. The match concluded with a score of 2-0 in favor of City, who were far from their best.

The player everyone was eager to see? Of course, it was Kevin De Bruyne, who had been the heart and soul of Manchester City for a decade. Unfortunately, his time on the pitch was cut short to less than thirty minutes. Napoli, who arrived with confidence, were missing their captain, Di Lorenzo, who was sent off for a foul on Haaland during a goal attempt. At that moment, Conte made a tough but necessary choice: De Bruyne off and Oliveira on. Napoli managed to hold their ground for one half, but eventually fell to goals from Haaland and Doku. Gianluigi Donnarumma, another highly anticipated player, was hardly noticed throughout the match.

In their four previous encounters in Europe, all of which occurred during the Champions League group stage, Manchester City struggled in 2011-12 (D1 L1) but later achieved victories both at home and away against the Partenopei in 2017-18.

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🟥 Red Card   Unfortunate news for Napoli in the 21st minute. The referee, after reviewing the incident, had to issue a red card: not for the foul itself, but for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Napoli found themselves with 10 players, as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off. Here's what happened: Donnarumma passed the ball back, but Napoli managed to clear it to Foden, who then advanced it to Haaland. Di Lorenzo intervened and had no option but to take down the Dutch giant.



 

In the 56th minute, Manchester City took the lead. Erling Haaland scored a header from the center of the box into the top right corner, with an assist from Phil Foden. This goal is particularly special for Haaland as it marks his 50th goal in the Champions League. With a clever double chip, Foden delivered a gentle ball over the defense, allowing Haaland to cut in and head the ball softly past Napoli's goalkeeper, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. The Norwegian sensation has now scored fifty goals in just 49 games: Manchester City has taken the lead, while Napoli's resistance lasted just under an hour.



Photo via x.com/ManCity

 

Unfortunately, it's a disappointing game for Napoli as they concede yet another goal in the 65th minute. Jérémy Doku found the net with a left-footed shot aimed at the bottom right corner. The assist came from Tijjani Reijnders. It's a fantastic double for City, with Doku making his way into the area after dribbling past half of Napoli, evading Beukema, and sliding the ball under Milinkovic's legs.



Via x.com/ManCity

 

 

Stats before the game

It's worth mentioning that Napoli has yet to secure an away win against any English team in European competitions (D12 - W0 D3 L9), having lost at least once to six out of the seven different teams they have played (Arsenal, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Manchester City), with their only exception being a draw against Leicester (2-2 in the Europa League in 2021-22).

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has gone head-to-head with his Napoli counterpart Antonio Conte seven times across all competitions, with Guardiola losing more matches (4) than he has won (3). Among the managers who have secured at least two victories against Guardiola, Conte is one of only three who have a better win record than losses, alongside Jürgen Klopp (11 wins, 10 losses) and Luis Enrique (three wins, two losses).

For Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, this marks his 17th appearance in the Champions League as a manager, matching José Mourinho's record. Only three managers have taken part in more than 17 editions of the tournament (since its rebranding in 1992-93): Carlo Ancelotti (22), Arsène Wenger (20), and Alex Ferguson (18).

Napoli will be the fifth different team that Antonio Conte has managed in the Champions League (previously with Juventus, Chelsea, Internazionale, and Tottenham): the only Italian managers to have overseen as many clubs in the competition (since 1992/93) are Carlo Ancelotti (8) and Claudio Ranieri (6).



 



2025 - 2026 UEFA Champions League
League Phase, Matchday 1

Manchester City 2 - 0 Napoli
Thursday 18 September 2025
Manchester City Stadium
Manchester, England
21:00

Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Robert Kempter GER
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Dietz GER
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner GER
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský SVK
UEFA Delegate: Nils Øyvind Fisketjønn NOR

21:00

Lineup MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Reijnders, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Foden, Doku; Haaland.

Subs: Trafford, Bettinelli, Akè, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Matheus Nunes, Bobb, Mukasa, Lewis, Mfuni

Coach: Josep Guardiola

👉🔵  Lineup NAPOLI (4-4-1-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Politano, Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; De Bruyne; Hojlund.  

Subs: Meret, Ferrante, Gutierrez, Juan Jesus, Gilmour, Neres, Olivera, Elmas, Vergara, Lucca, Ambrosino, Lang

Coach: Antonio Conte

 

✅    Click the video to watch Manchester City 2 - 0 Napoli highlights on Thursday 18 September 2025