Man City Round-Up, Wednesday 4th November: Haaland Rescues Nervy Win Over RB Leipzig Despite Donnarumma Howler
Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Champions League with a 3-2 victory away at RB Leipzig, though it was far from straightforward. City went ahead through an own goal from Castello Lukeba before a costly mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma gifted the hosts an equaliser, with Erling Haaland eventually stepping up to settle things in City's favour (The Sun). Haaland captained the side on the night, with Pep Guardiola's predecessor-successor setup making four changes from the previous outing as City lined up at the Red Bull Arena (ManCity.com) (Sports Mole). Rayan Cherki was left out of the starting eleven, with defensive calls also shaping the selection, as previewed before kick-off (Manchester Evening News) (Sports Mole).
Reaction afterwards focused heavily on Donnarumma, whose error drew strong criticism from supporters, with some fans online suggesting a past assessment of the goalkeeper by Luis Enrique had been proven right (The Sun). In the player ratings, one City player stood out with a 7/10 display while Donnarumma was marked down as the poor performer of the night following his mistake (Manchester Evening News). Elsewhere in Germany, City's youngsters were among the goals too, with the club's academy side recording a dominant victory over RB Leipzig in the UEFA Youth League (ManCity.com).
Off the pitch, the FFP saga continues to rumble on. Reports suggest some Premier League executives are pushing for City to face a fresh investigation, this time scrutinising the club's finances from 2018 onwards, on top of the existing 115-charge case (Football365) (TeamTalk). It's claimed Premier League clubs are divided on the matter, with the League said to be facing a difficult "dilemma" over whether to pursue a second probe (Manchester Evening News) (TeamTalk).
On the transfer front, TeamTalk reports that a Manchester City player who has featured sparingly since the start of last season has reportedly been given the "green light" to join Manchester United in January, with the report claiming "everything being done" to get a deal over the line (TeamTalk).
There was a lighter feature on Phil Foden, with the Manchester Evening News detailing how the City midfielder has rediscovered his smile after a tough couple of years, crediting changes made by both player and club for turning things around (Manchester Evening News).
Finally, City have confirmed the date and kick-off time for their forthcoming fixture against Bradford (ManCity.com), while further afield former City boss Pep Guardiola was pictured enjoying a Pro-Am round of golf alongside Tommy Fleetwood in Abu Dhabi (BBC Sport).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
