Premier League champions, Manchester City, survived a scare to reach the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League, coming from a goal down to overcome Belgian outfit, Club Brugge, 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s men knew that nothing short of a victory would suffice, after letting slip a two-goal lead to lose their penultimate game 4-2 against Paris Saint-Germain last time out.
City’s night had started in worrying fashion when Raphael Onyedika’s shot beat Ederson to give the visitors the lead before half-time.
But the hosts rallied back in the second half, starting in the 53rd minute when Mateo Kovacic drove through the heart of midfield and swept home the leveller.
The Cityzens went ahead 10 minutes later when Josko Gvardiol forced defender Joel Ordonez to turn the ball through his own net, before substitute, Savinho, scored with 13 minutes left on the clock to seal the crucial win.
With only three wins from eight games, Man. City finish as one of the unseeded teams and could face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in February’s playoffs – the price to pay for such a flawed campaign.