MATCHDAY LIVE - UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP A: CLUB BRUGGE VS MANCHESTER CITY

Join Mitchell Ryan for live updates as Manchester City take on Club Brugge, who should not be underestimated after an impressive start to their Champions League campaign.

Words: Mitchell Ryan

Club Brugge 1-5 Manchester City

Well, that's everything from me tonight, thanks for following along with me, now go take your pick of a whole host of other fantastic fixtures tonight. Should be good!

Man of the Match is a tough choice given how well everyone played, but it has to go to Phil Foden for his telling contributions throughout the match.

Honourable mentioned must go to Mahrez, Cancelo, and even Ederson for a few stunning saves later on in the match.

FULL-TIME: Club Brugge 1-5 Manchester City

Outstanding performance from Manchester City as they effectively swatted Brugge aside in what could have been a very tricky challenge.

City now go top of the group, whilst Brugge will end the night in third regardless of PSG-Leipzig later on.

90+5' A corner kick from City is defended easily, and referee's whistle goes.

90+4' It's been a first class, professional performance from City tonight, and certainly an important one in the context of the group, as they go top ahead of PSG vs Leipzig in a few minutes time.

90+2' Ake can only head the ball over from close range as Club Brugge are awarded a goal kick.

90+1' It's a bit of sleek build up from City, with a backheel from Grealish and a through ball from Mahrez, before Sterling is denied by Mignolet.

90' 4 minutes of added time to be played.

88' Ake and Cancelo can't get the ball clear, but Brugge can only put it out of bounds.

87' Sterling fluffs his lines again, though credit must go to Mignolet for putting him off.

86' Bas Dost tries to have his say on proceedings, as he's played through by Van der Brempt, but he can only force his effort wide.

Aaaaand it's five!

84' That's emphatic from Mahrez, as he patiently awaits the opening, before lashing it into the top right.

5-1!

83' A little selfish from Grealish here, as Palmer waves for the ball, but the man with the funky hair goes it alone, putting it behind for a goal kick.

1-4, Brugge onto the scoresheet!

81' Finally, a bit of pressure pays off, and with only their second shot on target, the man I highlighted ahead of kick off as a danger, Vanaken, puts away his third goal of the Champions Leauge season.

No clean sheet for City, but surely just a consolation.

Substitutions

Club Brugge: N'Soke off, Mechele on; De Ketelaere off, Dost on.

79' Outstanding save from Ederson!

De Ketelaere, with his last action on the pitch, heads towards goal, but is spectacularly denied by the Brazilian!

77' Sterling has the choice of aobout four City attackers, but decides to go it alone as he fires one shot into a player, and a second into the side netting.

Needs to choose another option there in my opinion.

75' Cole Palmer finds Walker brilliantly through a pair of defenders, but the right back isn't quite as accurate with this attempt.

73' Ederson is on hand to save Man City as Brugge find a rare breakthrough.

Substitution

Man City: Rodri off, Fernandinho on.

You beauty!

City coasting now for sure.

Palmer is a special talent. I don't know about starting this season, but certainly over the next 2 or 3 years, he could force his way into the team for sure.

Another Phil Foden? City's conveyor belt of talent is frankly ridiculous.

69' Gundogan and Palmer both have a go from outside the box, but there's no way through the bodies in the box.

Substitution

Club Brugge: Balanta off, Mbamba-Muanda on.

4-0, PALMERRRRR

67' Palmer gets City's fourth just minutes after coming on, and what a goal it was!

Grealish sends Sterling off down the left with a great ball, and the winger pulls it back for the youngster to control with his right, before firing home a curling effort with his left.

Exquisite. This boy is quite something.

65' Balanta picks up a yellow for cleaning out Grealish.

Substitutions

Man City: Foden off, Sterling on; De Bruyne off, Palmer on.

64' Lang attempts to offer Brugge an outlet, but the offside flag is there to deny him.

62' It's a freekick for City on the right hand side, which Mahrez takes, but it soars over the bar.

60' It's the combo we've seen more than any other tonight - Stunning ball from Foden, followed by the offside flag.

It's a shame, but Mignolet was quick out to smother the chance anyway.

58' Club Brugge already look as though they're running on empty - it's been a long night of defending.

Hopefully for them, the substitutes can make a difference.

Substitutions

Club Brugge: Sowah off, Van der Brempt on; Rits off, Vormer on.

Man City: Laporte off, Ake on; Bernardo Silva off, Gundogan on.

56' Phil Foden hits one!

But it's always rising, and now the changes come in for both sides.

3-0 to City!

53' Both full backs have got in on the act now!

De Bruyne taps a through ball between the Brugge defence, and the right back is on hand to slot the ball into the bottom left.

This should be irrecoverable now.

52' Brugge come forward and there's a strong ball into the box, but after an eterntiy, the offside flag finally comes up against Sowah.

51' N'Soki gives the ball away easily, but Mahrez and Bernardo's link up isn't quite good enough to result in a chance.

47' City attack in numbers, with Mahrez putting a threatening ball into the box. Neither Bernardo nor Foden can reach it, but the Englishman receives a nasty stud to the thigh.

He is up and going again now, though. No penalty.

46' Brugge get us going again for the second half.

Mitch's take

It's been an entertaining first 45 minutes, with City dominating more than I had personally expected.

They may only lead by 2, but with 68% of possession and having restricted Brugge to just one shot, it's fair to say that City are in the driver's seat at this stage.

Foden has been fantastic today, but credit must go to the entirety of City's front line, as well as Rodri and Cancelo, who I think have been excellent so far.

HALF TIME: Club Brugge 0-2 Manchester City

And with that missed chance, the referee calls time.

Great, controlled performance by City so far.

Tweet out your thoughts on the game so far @BoarSport!

45+3' The ball is recycled and finds its way to De Bruyne, who unleashes a shot from the edge of the box which soars just over the bar.

45+3' De Bruyne slips Foden in, who offloads it to Mahrez, but his shot is striahgt down the throat of Mignolet.

45+2' Grealish puts Mignolet under pressure as the 'keeper is caught out of his box, and the Brugge goalie has no choice but to put it out of play.

45' 3 added minutes to played.

45' Yellow card for N'Soki

The Frenchman clips De Bruyne's ankle as both go in for the ball, resulting in a booking for the defender.

2-0 City

43' And he puts it away!

The winger sends Mignolet the wrong way and slots the ball into the bottom left corner.

That second goal could be important in solidifying the lead that City realistically deserve as we approach half time.

42' It's a penalty to City!

It's unfortunate, but after a bit of a mixup with De Bruyne and Mahrez, N'Soki dives in and wipes Mahrez out.

It will be the Algerian to step up to the spot.

41' De Ketelaere's ball goes over everyone and out for a City throw in.

40' Sowah comes down the right flank and tries a ball in. Bernardo Silva cuts it out but the best he concedes the corner.

39' I know it came to nothing, but can I just say that that backheel flick from Cancelo was filthy. Poor Sowah, but that was class.

38' Balanta wins the ball from De Bruyne high up the pitch, and Brugge come forward, but Walker is there and it's the same story as City clear their lines.

36' The corner comes to nothing after a small scramble in the box, and Foden is unleashed on the break, but Mignolet is quick out of the box to clear the ball.

35' Sobol charges forward down the left, and Dias is there again to put it behind for a Brugge corner...

33' Club Brugge have been spurred on by the goal.

De Ketelaere finds himself in the box with the ball at his feet, but Dias is there to snuff out the danger almost instantly.

32' Laporte picks up a yellow for what the ref has viewed as a late challenge on Sowah, though it did look like a dive from where I'm sat...

1-0 to City!

30' Finally!

Manchester City lead, and it's from an unlikely source, as Cancelo slots the ball away between Mignolet's legs.

Take a guess who played an unreal ball to get him in behind.

(Hint: his surname begins with F and rhymes with Odin)

27' Bernardo Silva is offside again, but even so, De Bruyne should be doing better there.

Given a clear view of the goal, he fires the ball straight at Mignolet.

26' Mignolet claims Walker's ball into the box, leaving Grealish heading thin air.

Still no breakthrough for either team, but certainly an entertaining game to say there have been a total of 2 shots.

24' Yellow card shown to Clinton Mata after a late challenge on Bernardo Silva.

22' The crowd are pushing Club Brugge on now, as they get a rare spell of possession.

De Ketelaere is fouled and the Belgian's have a free kick, but it's put too close to Ederson to cause any danger.

20' The final pass lets City down again.

Foden plays another stunning ball that Cancelo reaches, but the left back's cross can't find Grealish.

18' City are in charge of the game right now, but the go-ahead goal remains elusive. Still 0-0 as things stand.

14' Foden gets the right side of Hendry, and races towards Mignolet, but can only find the side netting with his finish.

13' Kevin De Bruyne puts in a beautiful free kick, which Laporte touches down for Rodri to put away, but again, the offside flag denies the Cityzens.

11' Great defending from N'Soki as Grealish and Bernardo Silva combine on the left before the latter puts the ball into the box for Foden to latch onto, but the Frenchman is there to put it behind.

The offside flag eventually goes up for Bernardo, but great play nonetheless.

10' Grealish has the ball in the net, but he's adjudged to have fouled Mata as he ran through on goal.

7' Foden is making things happen again, with a good ball across the box, but it's just ahead of the oncoming De Bruyne.

5' Foden pings a beautiful ball out to Mahrez, which he controls reasonably well, but his next ball is deflected behind for a City corner.

3' It's a fairly smooth start to the game here - City moving the ball about well as they so often do, Club Brugge waiting patiently to hit them on the break.

We're underway in Belgium!

1' The stage is set, and City, in their white away strip, get us started here at Club Brugge's stadium.

Our survey says...

A lot of support for City here with half an hour to go, will it be the Sky Blues taking home the 3 points this evening?

Or is there another Brugge upset on the cards? Keep voting and keep tweeting @BoarSport to get mentioned on the live blog!

Sam has his say

Have to agree with the boss on this one - Brugge are far from a pushover. I'd still back City to take this one, but again, by no means a foregone conclusion.

Lineups are in

City's brazilian boys are back, though most of them start on the bench. The Sky Blues start with a fluid front three of Foden, Grealish, and Mahrez, with Ederson returning between the sticks.

Hans Vanaken starts in attacking midfield for Brugge, having scored 2 in 2 so far this competition. Former Liverpool stopper Simon Mignolet starts in goal.

The lineups in full:

Club Brugge XI: Mignolet; Mata, Hendry, N'Soki, Sobol; Sowah, Rits, Balanta, Noell Lang; Vanaken; De Ketelaere

Subs: Mechele, Van der Brempt, Ricca, Dost, Vormer, Lammens, Izquierdo, Maouassa, Mbamba-Muanda

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, Grealish, Foden

Subs: Zinchenko, Carson, Sterling, Steffen, Palmer, Ake, Jesus, Fernandinho, Gundogan

Let's get this show on the road

Good afternoon everyone, we're about an hour and a half away from kickoff, and it's geared up to be an exciting one!

This is the first time the two teams have met in Europe, although Brugge's record against English outfits (W1 D3 L9) is significantly worse than City's record against Belgian sides (W5 L1).

Club Brugge do come into this matchup above City, however, having made a stunning start to the competition this year, drawing against PSG and beating Leipzig in their second game.

Manchester City bested Leipzig in their first game of the competition too, coming out on top of a thrilling 6-3 scoreline, but following a 2-0 loss to PSG last time out, sit 3rd in Group A.

Manchester City will be favourites for this one on paper, but Brugge certainly shouldn't be understimated. Let's hope both sides put on a show.

I'll be back with lineups in about half an hour. Get involved on Twitter with your thoughts ahead of kickoff!

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