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As it happenedended1509572956

Napoli vs Manchester City - as it happened: Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling seal victory for the visitors

Re-live updates from the Champions League

Liam Corless,Nick Stromberg
Wednesday 01 November 2017 15:56 GMT
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Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring his 178th goal for Manchester City
Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring his 178th goal for Manchester City (Getty)

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Washington Bureau Chief

Manchester City will qualify for the Champions League knockout stages if they win at Napoli on Wednesday night.

In an early season where all of the unprecedented five English clubs involved in the competition have achieved admirably – with not a single game being lost – City have perhaps performed most emphatically, winning all three of their games and conceding a single goal.

Although Pep Guardiola’s side were pushed in the first, home leg of this double-header, with Dries Mertens missing a penalty that could have salvaged a point for Napoli, they will remain confident that they can emerge from the cauldron of the Stadio San Paolo with the crucial victory that will guarantee them early passage to the last-16.

The Sky Blues will no doubt take heart from their continued domestic dominance. Despite being pushed hard by a resilient West Brom at the weekend, their fluid attacking football still shows no signs of being stymied and their 3-2 victory extends their unbeaten record to 15, with 14 wins, this season.

Pep Guardiola will also be pleased to have no fresh injury concerns. Eager to get into the knockout rounds at the earliest opportunity, expect the Spaniard to field a strong starting XI this evening.

Indeed, despite their confidence, City will underestimate Napoli at their own peril. Disappointed to not come away from Etihad with at least a draw a fortnight ago, the Partenopei need a win to keep their own hopes of emerging from Group F alive. Following last Sunday’s win over Sassulo, the Italians are cruising at the top of Serie A and will aim to intimidate City into conceding tonight.

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What time does it start?

Napoli vs Manchester City kicks off at 19:45 GMT.

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on BT Sport 3 from 19:00. Highlights will be shown at 22:15 on BT Sport 2.

It’s a big game for...

Pepe Reina has caught the eye of Manchester City in recent times (Getty)
Pepe Reina has caught the eye of Manchester City in recent times (Getty)

Pepe Reina: The experienced 34-year-old would have been disappointed to concede two in just 20 minutes at the Etihad. Rumoured to have been a transfer target for City in the summer – as an experienced stand-in for Ederson, in place of Claudio Bravo – a confident showing this evening may make this move concrete come January.

Best stat...

844: The amount of passes City completed in their win at West Brom on Saturday – the most ever completed in a Premier League since data started being collected.

Remember when...

A sweet finish from Edinson Cavani after a devastating Napoli counterattack when these two sides met in the group stages in 2011.

Player to watch out for...

Raheem Sterling: Scoring in this fixture at the Etihad a fortnight ago, as well as in last weekend’s triumph at West Brom, the forward now has a tally of 9 competitive goals this season, the highest of any City player.

Past three meetings...

Manchester City 2 (Sterling, Jesus) Napoli 1 (Diawara), Champions League, October 2017

Napoli 2 (Cavani x2) Manchester City 1 (Balotelli), Champions League, November 2011

Manchester City 1 (Kolarov) Napoli 1 (Cavani), Champions League, September 2011

Form guide...

Napoli: WWLDWW

Man City: WWWWDW

Odds...

Napoli: 7/4

Manchester City: 31/21

Draw: 27/10

(Odds provided by 888 Sport)

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Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:21
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GOAL! Spurs 3-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo)

81' - Cristiano Ronaldo pulls one back for Real Madrid as his close-range shot deflects off Eric Dier and past Hugo Lloris.

Can the reigning European champions mount an unlikely comeback from here?

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:22
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81' - Theo Hernandez replaces Luka Modric for Madrid.

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:23
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85' - Cristiano Ronaldo lets fly from distance but his well-struck shot is straight at Hugo Lloris and the Spurs keeper makes the save.

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:26
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87' - A small scuffle breaks out at Wembley and unsurprisingly Sergio Ramos is involved. He and Moussa Dembele square up after a coming-together but both men escape without a yellow card.

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:29
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89' - ... aaand Moussa Dembele goes into the book just moments later for a wild swipe at, you guessed it, Sergio Ramos!

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:31
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Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:32
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90' - Three minutes of added time to go at Wembley.

Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos has just gone into the book for sarcastically applauding the referee. Vintage.

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:32
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Full-time - Spurs 3-1 Real Madrid

The final whistle goes and Spurs have smashed Real Madrid at Wembley! Two goals from Dele Alli and another from Christian Eriksen were all that were required against an under-par Los Merengues.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have got a third against Maribor at Anfield through Daniel Sturridge and City are 4-2 up in Naples after a goal in injury-time by Raheem Sterling. 

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:37
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Reaction from Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen

Dele Alli: "It was a fantastic performance. We knew if we stuck to our game plan and stayed solid at the back we'd get chances. It could've been more today but we're very happy with the result

"With the team we've got here, we don't just want to compete with teams like this. We want to be winning."

Christian Eriksen: "We played a professional game. We got what we wanted. We could've scored more with a bit more composure.

"This is something we can build on. We need to keep it going."

Quotes from BT Sport

Liam Corless1 November 2017 21:49

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