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The England midfielder played a decisive role as the treble winners came back from the dead to make it five Champions League wins out of five

Never write Manchester City off, even in games they barely need to win. That was the lesson here as the treble winners overcome a shabby first-half display and hauled themselves to a 3-2 victory that clinched top spot in their Champions League group.

Pep Guardiola's side were unrecognisable in the first half as they lacked concentration and shipped two goals for the first time in a game all season, with Belgian striker Lois Openda capitalising on woeful defending from Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias.

City were 45 minutes from losing a first Champions League home game for five-and-a-half years but Guardiola must have given them a rollicking at the break as they came out a different side and Erling Haaland pulled a goal back – his sixth against Leipzig in 2023 – and then Phil Foden and substitute Julian Alvarez followed suit.

GOAL rates Man City's players from the Etihad Stadium…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Stefan Ortega (5/10):

Beaten too easily for Openda's second goal.

Kyle Walker (5/10):

Out of position for the second goal and his usual leadership was lacking.

Ruben Dias (3/10):

A stinker from the Portuguese, who was barged off the ball for the second goal and risked picking up a yellow card, which led to Guardiola hooking him at half-time.

Manuel Akanji (4/10):

Misjudged Blaswich's long kick for Openda's opener, a rare error from the usually switched-on Swiss.

Josko Gvardiol (5/10):

Could have done more to close down Openda for the second goal but made amends by setting up Foden's equaliser.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Bernardo Silva (7/10):

Provided the foundation for the fightback.

Rodri (5/10):

Way below his usual high standards.

Rico Lewis (6/10):

Missed a big chance to score in the first half. Kept the faith in the second.

Getty ImagesAttack

Phil Foden (8/10):

Recovered from a flat first half to play a hand in every goal. The sign of a top class player.

Erling Haaland (6/10):

Scored his 12th goal in his last eight games against Leipzig to pull City back into it but missed big chances either side of that.

Jack Grealish (5/10):

Not the best return after missing the Liverpool game although he also sustained a knock to the head. Upstaged by his replacement Doku.

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Nathan Ake (6/10):

Came on when City were trailing 2-0 and they were 3-2 up by full-time. Enough said.

Jeremy Doku (8/10):

His pace and trickery sent shivers down Leipzig's spine and was a key factor in the turnaround.

Julian Alvarez (8/10):

A bundle of energy and excitement and completed a fightback which he played a big role in sparking.

Sergio Gomez (N/A):

Came on in the 92nd minute.

Pep Guardiola (8/10):

His half-time talk breathed life back into City and his substitutions finished the job.

A round-up of IPL news on April 15, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2015Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, is not travelling with his team-mates to Pune ahead of their clash against Kings XI Punjab. “Cramps, weakness and fever…bad timing,” Gambhir tweeted. “Living on khichdee and curd-rice…”

Not travelling to Pune with @KKRiders today. Cramps, weakness and fever…bad timing. Living on khichdee and curd-rice…

— GGF (@GautamGambhir) April 15, 2015

Knight Riders face Kings XI on April 18, which gives Gambhir a decent window of time to recover and join his team in time for the match.Boult ahead of Steyn – WarnerDavid Warner, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, has said that on current form Trent Boult is “just ahead” of Dale Steyn, who has not been included in the XI for Sunrisers’ first two games. Boult, with four wickets in two matches, is the leading wicket-taker for the team.”Trent Boult has been in fantastic form. Look at how he bowled in the World Cup. He was the best bowler barring Mitchell Starc,” Warner said. “The condition suited him [Bangalore] here and suited him in the last game. We feel Trent is just ahead of Dale. We will definitely use Dale in the tournament … At the moment Trent is going fantastic so Dale just misses out.”Watson targets return in next home game
Shane Watson, the Rajasthan Royals’ captain, is eyeing a return to the team for the home game against Chennai Super Kings on April 19. “I got hit around the hip during the first training session of the tournament and it has taken a bit of time to recover,” Watson told . “We are going to travel to Vizag overnight, so it’s going to be touch and go for the next game. I will surely be back in the team for our game here against the Chennai Super Kings.”Royals, on a three-match winning streak under Steven Smith’s leadership, face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on April 16.Vijay looking to make it big
M Vijay, the Kings XI Punjab opener, is one of the two Indian batsmen to score two centuries in the IPL and he has said he is looking forward to a couple more this eason. “I don’t think openers can ever blame (anything) because we have got 20 overs to go and play,” Vijay told . “If I can play out around 15-16 overs I will be somewhere close to my hundred. So I have got the best opportunity; I cannot have any problems with that. Obviously I am happy in that way and I am looking forward for maybe a couple of more (centuries) this season.”Curbing his natural aggression has brought Vijay success in Test cricket but in IPL, he is looking to, “not do that! Not to curb yourself, but just go and express yourself and give the start the team requires,” he said.Vijay’s idol, not surprisingly, is another stylist. “I always liked Mark Waugh,” he said. “I am a Mark Waugh fan. I was crazy about him when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I liked the way he carried himself in the field, the way he was and everything about him.”Anderson keen on finishing touches
Corey Anderson, the Mumbai Indians allrounder, has said that he wants to improve as a finisher. With two half-centuries, Anderson is the leading run-scorer for his team. “We had (Michael) Hussey last year with us,” he said. “He was an unbelievable finisher and so was Michael Bevan. These guys finished games and made it look easy. I have been able to put myself into positions where I can potentially win the game but I tend to get out just before doing so. I am hoping that with a bit of experience and time I’ll start learning these things. You learn to put the pieces together.”

Victoria captain Matthew Wade has been suspended for one Sheffield Shield match for pitch tampering during his side’s win over Tasmania at Bellerive Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2013Victoria captain Matthew Wade has been suspended for one Sheffield Shield match for pitch tampering during his side’s win over Tasmania at Bellerive Oval. Wade, who scored 119 during Victoria’s first innings on Thursday and Friday was found guilty of breaching the Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour while batting, after the umpires Ian Lock and Sam Nogajski reported him for “unfair play”.”While batting during Victoria’s first innings, umpires determined that Wade had tampered with the pitch,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “Both umpires considered the change to the pitch, which resulted in the creation of a long valley within the protected area, had been created by means other than natural wear and tear.”Wade denied the charge and a full disciplinary hearing was held, led by Daryl Harper, the match referee and former Test umpire. Harper upheld the guilty verdict and Wade was penalised 50% of his match fee and received two suspension points, which will result in him missing Victoria’s match against Western Australia in Perth starting on Friday.However, Wade has the right to appeal the decision, which would have to be lodged within the next 48 hours. Tony Dodemaide, the chief executive of Cricket Victoria, said the state would review the finding against Wade before deciding on its course of action.”We are currently reviewing the events in their entirety before deciding whether to lodge an appeal and will not comment further until that decision has been made,” Dodemaide said.

The ICC have extended the deadlines for naming World Twenty20 squads, although the chances of Kevin Pietersen being included for England remain very slim

Andrew McGlashan16-Aug-2012The ICC has extended the deadline for naming the World Twenty20 squads, although the chances of Kevin Pietersen being included for England remain very slim.The original deadline was Saturday but boards have now been given until August 24 to submit their 15-man lists for the tournament which begins on September 18, after the ICC received requests “from several of its members”.It is understood that the ECB was one of the boards who asked about the possibility of an extension with the ICC but that was to avoid a clash with the final Test against South Africa which starts on Thursday. The ECB was also believed to be happy to abide by the Saturday deadline if required.Sri Lanka, who are currently in the midst of the SLPL, are another country who requested an extension as their domestic Twenty20 tournament will help determine selection for the World Twenty20.It is now expected that England will name their squad on Tuesday, following the conclusion of the Test series, although the party, it is believed, was decided during a selection meeting at Edgbaston last week.Although Pietersen offered an apology to the ECB on Tuesday night for what he termed ‘provocative’ text messages to South African players it was met by a cool response from the management and Andrew Strauss. His apology followed the YouTube video on Saturday night when he made himself available for all international cricket having previously retired from limited-overs cricket which led to him being unavailable for Twenty20.”The truth is a lot has happened over the last seven days,” Strauss said. “The England team has been in the news for the wrong reasons. We all want to move forward but there are some underlying issues on trust and respect that don’t get dealt with over night and it’s going to take quite a long time to overcome those.”Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said lots of negotiations remained. “We are in receipt of Kevin’s apology, but further discussions need to take place to establish whether it is possible to regain the trust and mutual respect required to ensure all parties are able to focus on playing cricket and to maintain the unity of purpose that has served us so well in recent years.”Five countries – Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Bangladesh – have already named their squads for the World Twenty20.

Craig White, the former Yorkshire and England allrounder, is to join Hampshire’s coaching set-up ahead of the new season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2012Craig White, the former Yorkshire and England allrounder, is to join Hampshire’s coaching set-up ahead of the new season. White had been expected to pursue a career as an umpire after leaving his position as coach of Yorkshire’s second XI in November of last year, but he will now take up his new role on March 1.White left Yorkshire after more than two decades as a player and coach, with the club bringing in Jason Gilliespie and Paul Farbrace as part of a backroom shake-up. He retired as a player in 2008, having made more than 12,000 runs and taken 395 wickets in first-class cricket, with 30 Test appearances for England and another 51 in ODIs.”This is a very exciting new challenge for me,” White said. “I’ve been at Yorkshire for 22 years but I now feel it would be interesting to see how things are at a new county. I’ve always admired the way things are done at Hampshire – it seems a very focused but relaxed place so it should be exactly my kind of atmosphere. They’ve got some great young cricketers there so I’m looking forward to working with them.”Hampshire finished bottom of Division One in last season’s County Championship and were subsequently relegated. It has been a winter of change at the Rose Bowl, with players such as Dominic Cork, Nic Pothas and Michael Lumb all departing. Simon Katich has been signed as the county’s overseas player, while Jimmy Adams will continue as captain after taking up the role at the end of last season.Giles White, the Hampshire manager, said: “The players and staff are excited about this appointment. We all look forward to working with Craig and tapping into his experience. We are delighted to have him at Hampshire.”

Andrew Strauss, the England Test captain, will be among seven key players heading overseas in December to step up their preparations for the series against Pakistan in UAE early next year

Andrew McGlashan17-Nov-2011Andrew Strauss, the England Test captain, will be among seven key players heading overseas in December to step up their preparations for the series against Pakistan in UAE early next year.Strauss, Matt Prior and Eoin Morgan, who is recovering from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the end of the English season and one-day tour of India, will travel to Pune and Mumbai. Meanwhile, four fast bowlers – James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions, will head to Potchefstroom in South Africa for a training camp. Both trips are part of the England Performance Programme for the winter.Like Morgan, Tremlett and Broad are both aiming to make comebacks after injury. Tremlett hasn’t played since the first Test against India, at Lord’s, after being ruled out of the remainder of the series with a back injury. Broad, England’s Twenty20 captain, suffered a shoulder injury in the home one-day series against India which ruled him out of the return tour in October.Anderson was rested for the tour of India after a heavy workload during the summer and will be expected to lead the attack on flat pitches in the UAE alongside Broad. On Wednesday, Anderson tweeted: “Had my first bowl for two months yesterday, bleep test and fitness testing today. I can’t move and my feet are bleeding.”Tremlett will be aiming to reclaim his Test spot which he had cemented following a successful return to the side during the Ashes series, but in his absence Tim Bresnan has made a convincing case to remain in the team having played a key role against India.Onions is another option for the selectors and they have been very keen to get him back in the set-up following his lengthy lay-off with a serious back injury that threatened his career a year ago. He was drafted into the squad for the final Test against India, at The Oval, when there was doubt over Anderson and was then called into the one-day squad on the subcontinent after Chris Woakes flew home injury although didn’t make an appearance.Meanwhile, Strauss and Prior are Test specialists following Strauss’s retirement from ODIs and Prior’s omission from the limited-overs set-up. Both players returned to their counties at the end of the domestic season, but haven’t had any action since mid-September. Strauss hasn’t hit a Test century since his 110 against Australia, at Brisbane, last November and only has two in his last 26 matches.”These camps will not only see the players working on their cricketing and physical preparations through training but will also involve matches in highly suitable conditions which will provide an invaluable form of practice prior to commencing a Test series in sub-continental conditions,” David Parsons, the England performance director, said.”The players attending these camps didn’t participate in England’s recent ODI tour of India or have been sidelined through injury so this is the ideal opportunity to build up their preparations during an important period leading into January and provides the talented young players on both the EPP and EDP programmes a chance to train alongside and learn from some of the very best.”England’s tour against Pakistan in UAE during January and February includes three Tests, four one-day internationals and three Twenty20s. Their winter is then concluded with a two-Test series in Sri Lanka at the end of March. Although currently ranked No. 1 in Test cricket they could well have lost that position by the time they resume action if South Africa win all their home Test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka.

Eoin Morgan made 50 batting at No. 3 for England Lions on a damp opening one of the first unofficial Test against Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2012
ScorecardEoin Morgan made 50 in his first match as Lions captain•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan made 50 batting at No. 3 for England Lions before three wickets in the evening session brought Australia A back into the match on a damp opening day of the first unofficial Test.With a slow, turning pitch expected at Old Trafford – 34 wickets fell to spinners in Lancashire’s Championship match against Worcestershire last month – the Lions included Samit Patel, James Tredwell and the local boy Simon Kerrigan, for his first Lions appearance, while Australia A picked only two quicks in their four-man attack.Ravi Bopara, who missed England’s second Test against South Africa for personal reasons, was not included for the Lions after deciding he was not ready for a return to cricket.Morgan, captaining the side, elected to bat despite rainfall during the morning that delayed the start until 2.30pm. In testing conditions, the Lions openers, Joe Root and Nick Compton, scored seven runs from the first seven overs, before Mitchell Johnson had the former caught behind off the glove.That brought in Morgan and he and Compton buckled down for a 79-run partnership. Nathan Lyon removed the Somerset batsman after a typically obdurate innings, his 46 coming off 137 balls, and it was Lyon’s offspin that also accounted for Jonny Bairstow after another painstaking stay at the crease.Morgan had already reached his fifty but Johnson struck in the next over, having the England batsman caught at mid-on, to leave the Lions 114 for 4. However, Patel was joined by Craig Kieswetter to shore up the innings and remain unbeaten the close.

Leicestershire, reeling from an awful season, have reorganised their coaching set-up in a bid to find improvement

George Dobell15-Oct-2013Leicestershire, reeling from an awful season, have reorganised their coaching set-up in a bid to find improvement.For the first time in the club’s history, the team failed to win a first-class game all season – they lost to Leeds-Bradford MCCU, too – and recorded the lowest points tally (79) by any team since the introduction of two divisions in the County Championship. They finished 70 points adrift of the rest at the bottom of Division Two.As a result Phil Whitticase, who was previously known as the head coach, has been named as director of cricket, while Ben Smith is now the senior coach with responsibility for the first team. Lloyd Tennant has been appointed as senior coach with responsibility for the 2nd XI.”The club felt that with all the responsibilities I had to deal with there was a need to realign and have a clear focus to the requirements of the team,” Whitticase said. “This has been achieved by restructuring the roles of the coaches and I believe this will be in the best interest of the club.”The club raised some eyebrows when its chairmen, Paul Heywood, sent out a message to members towards the end of the season. Among some genuinely encouraging items of news – such as the club having secured a tour game against India in 2014 and expressing confidence that they would hit their financial budgets – he included the more prosaic item: an ice cream trolley has been purchased so ice cream is now available at every match.While Leicestershire supporters will, no doubt, he delighted to hear that, they may be more interested in how the club can improve on the pitch and how they can keep hold of a clutch of their better players – the likes of Ned Eckersley, Josh Cobb and Shiv Thakor – when their contracts expire.

Brendan Taylor’s record 171, the highest score by a Zimbabwe Test captain, pushed the home side to a strong total against Bangladesh on the second day

The Report by Mohammad Isam18-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrendan Taylor made the highest Test score by a Zimbabwe captain•Associated PressA positive response from the Bangladesh batsmen livened up the first Test in Harare. Bangladesh batted freely in the 25 overs they had to face before the close of play, after Brendan Taylor’s 171 – the highest by a Zimbabwe Test captain – guided his team to a challenging score.With exactly 100 minutes left in the day and much to lose in that tricky period, openers Shahriar Nafees and Jahurul Islam chose to take the attack to the Zimbabwe bowlers, not through outrageous shot-making but attractive strokeplay amid a generous dose of half-volleys. Until Nafees’ dismissal in the 13th over, the pair dominated the home bowlers with drives through cover, mid-off and mid-on. Nafees also handled the short ball well, pulling through midwicket. However, he fell for 30 when a leading edge was easily caught at point by Timycen Maruma.Jahurul expressed himself better, using both his natural inclination to defend and his recently-acquired skill to find boundaries. He was dropped off the sixth ball of the innings, much like Zimbabwe opener Maruma had been on the opening day. Jahurul took advantage of that reprieve, striking seven boundaries in his short stay, most of them owing to excellent timing down the ground. He was also severe on balls offering width.Mohammad Ashraful played a couple of flashy cover drives, and there were some hits and misses. But how normal is an Ashraful innings without the odd flutter?The Test match progressed at a contrasting pace earlier in the day, as Zimbabwe took their time to put together a competitive total. Taylor went past Andy Flower’s 156, the previous highest for a Zimbabwe Test captain, made in 1995 against Pakistan at this venue. A few overs earlier, he reached the highest score by a Zimbabwe batsman against Bangladesh, going past Tatenda Taibu’s 153 in 2005. In the first session, he had overtaken his previous Test highest of 117.Taylor played a consummate captain’s knock, before it was ended by a top-edge that was snapped by his counterpart Mushfiqur Rahim. Taylor came to the crease just after the first hour on the first day and used switched gears depending on conditions, situations, and batting partners. He started off slowly with Hamilton Masakadza before letting Malcolm Waller’s energetic approach become the driving force of their 127-run fourth wicket stand. As soon as Waller got out for 55, Taylor restrained himself, only doing enough to reach his third Test hundred.On the second morning, Taylor was under greater pressure, after losing Elton Chigumbura and debutant Richmond Mutambami early. Along with Graeme Cremer, he slowed the pace down considerably, resisting the bowlers determinedly. Till lunch, the pair batted at 1.85 runs per over, before changing gears as soon as Taylor saw Cremer grow in confidence against spin. The two scored at four an over the hour after lunch. During this session, Taylor scored 36 at a run a ball, and his 171 comprised just eight fours and two sixes.Taylor survived two close calls. On 35, he was dropped at long-off by Nafees who ran in and dived to his left, only for the ball to pop out of his grasp. The second life came when he was on 116. Robiul Islam trapped him in front, but umpire Tony Hill rejected the call.Taylor and Cremer added 106 runs and it ended when Cremer was brilliantly caught at slip by Mahmudullah. That wicket was Sohag Gazi’s first in the innings, and he added one more.Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam finished with three wickets each, but they were also made to toil. Robiul was the visitors’ best bowler on the first day, which he finished with two wickets. Mutumbami was his third. For the remainder of the day, he bowled with discipline and cut off the runs. Rubel Hossain took two wickets in his 30 overs and looked more disciplined than he did in his previous Test in Colombo.Enamul bowled 47 overs his left-arm spin seemed largely unthreatening. There was a period on the second afternoon when Cremer was happy to let his turning deliveries go to the wicketkeeper. Gazi was underused, but he, too, didn’t deliver what Mushfiqur would have been looking for. The Bangladesh captain even used Shakib Al Hasan for seven overs; Shakib was supposed to play this Test as a specialist batsman, recovering from an injury to his leg.

After a nightmare CLT20 2012 – both on and off the field – the tournament can hardly get worse for the Perth Scorchers, despite their player-availability issues

Brydon Coverdale21-Sep-2013Overview
Although they have been hit by the unavailability of key players, the Perth Scorchers know that, at least, the Champions League T20 can hardly be more disastrous for them than it was last year. On the field at the 2012 tournament they won one from four matches but it was off the field that the squad’s discipline really broke down, with a big night out on the town in the lead-up to a must-win game the catalyst for change. The captain Marcus North and coach Lachlan Stevens both resigned from their positions with the Scorchers and Western Australia after the squad returned home, and Justin Langer was brought in as the new mentor, while Simon Katich is now in charge of the Twenty20 side on the field.Unfortunately for the Scorchers, they will enter this year’s tournament without either their leading run-scorer from the BBL last summer (Shaun Marsh) or their top wicket taker (Alfonso Thomas). Marsh was ruled out after hurting his hamstring during Australia’s limited-overs series in England and Thomas is unavailable due to his commitments with Somerset. The absence of Mitchell Marsh, due to a hamstring problem like his brother, leaves the squad without three of its key men and the depth will be seriously tested in a group alongside Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Lions.The squad features plenty of spin options, with the veteran Brad Hogg joined by Ashton Agar, Ashton Turner and Michael Beer, but whether they have the necessary batting firepower in the absence of the Marsh brothers remains to be seen. Greater responsibility will fall on Adam Voges as a potential big-hitter, although Katich’s recent form in England in T20 and the longer form suggests he is striking the ball as freely as he ever has.Key players
At 42, and five and a half years after his initial retirement from international cricket, Brad Hogg continues to defy expectations. He was second only to Thomas on the Scorchers’ wickets list in the most recent BBL season with 11 victims at 20.27 and a strike-rate of 6.75, and in spinning subcontinent conditions he will be an important man in the attack.Surprise package
Michael Beer does not immediately spring to mind when Australia’s selectors consider their best T20 spinners, but no Australian slow bowler apart from Hogg took more wickets than Beer during the 2012-13 BBL. His ten victims came at 21.30 and although he never took more than two in a match, he was consistently tight, going at just 5.91 an over. His height and bounce make him a handy spinner in Australian conditions, but how he adjusts to the Indian pitches remains a question.Weaknesses
Without Thomas and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who will play for Mumbai Indians, the Scorchers pace attack looks thin and will rely on men who are far from household names, such as Jason Behrendorff, Burt Cockley and Joe Mennie. There is also a question mark over the ability of the batting order to score big and fast, with players like Marcus North and Katich more renowned as long-form batsmen.