Haaland's late winner gives Manchester City a thrilling victory at Leipzig
Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League, but Erling Haaland's decisive contribution leaves Enzo Maresca's concern about sharing the goals firmly in focus.
By Hushread Stories, from 14 outlets · First published 4 Nov 2026
In brief
- Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 3-2 away in their Champions League league phase match.
- Erling Haaland scored the 78th-minute winner as City secured victory in their fourth league phase fixture.
- City took the lead through a Lukeba own goal, but Leipzig twice fought back to level the score.
- After the win, Haaland urged City to be more ruthless and said they needed to step up when leading.
- Enzo Maresca has said City cannot rely only on Haaland and needs more goals from other attackers.
Timeline · 7 moments
Haaland urges City to improve when leading
Soccer News Football ↗Haaland urges City to become more ruthless
ESPN FC ↗Haaland scores late winner as City beat Leipzig
L'Équipe ↗Anderson supplies the cross for City's decisive opening
Guardian Sport ↗Lukeba own goal gives City first half lead
CNN Brasil ↗Recent defeats expose City's problems with converting chances
Esteemed Kompany ↗Maresca calls for goals beyond Haaland's existing thirteen
Soccer News Football ↗Update 5 Nov 2026, 2:05 pm UTC
After the win, Haaland urged City to be more ruthless and said they needed to step up when leading. This adds his post-match assessment but does not change the result or the published headline.
Update 5 Nov 2026, 5:34 am UTC
Haaland said City have "lots of things" to improve and called for the team to be more ruthless after twice letting Leipzig draw level. Express & Star and ESPN FC reported on his post-match comments.
How it started
Enzo Maresca's concern was clear: Manchester City needed goals from more than one source. Haaland had already scored 13 times this season, according to Soccer News Football, which reported Maresca's call for greater contributions from the other attackers on November 3.
That concern followed defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton. Esteemed Kompany reported that creating chances had not been City's problem in those games. Taking them had.
How it unfolded
City went ahead at Leipzig through a first-half own goal by Lukeba, according to CNN Brasil. Its report placed the Champions League match on Wednesday, November 4.
Leipzig kept responding. CNN Brasil reported that City were pegged back more than once, while L'Équipe described a largely dull contest that became frantic after the interval.
The decisive opening came from Elliot Anderson, whose cross was turned in by Haaland, according to Guardian Sport. That report put the finish on 77 minutes; L'Équipe recorded it in the 78th minute.
Haaland's goal settled the match at 3-2. Sky Sports reported that he had again proved decisive against Leipzig, earning City an away victory in the Champions League.
Where it stands
City have a win from their fourth league phase fixture, but the result does not resolve Maresca's concern about who supplies the goals. ESPN FC reported on November 4 that he said his side could not rely only on Haaland.
There is also a distinction between City's broader finishing problem and Haaland's service in this match. Guardian Sport reported that openings for him had recently been scarce and were again limited before Anderson's decisive cross.
What to watch
The question now is whether City's other attackers can provide the goals Maresca has asked for. His demand, reported by Soccer News Football, remains unresolved by a victory whose decisive moment again belonged to Haaland.


