English club Manchester City defeated 10-man Bayern Munich 3-2 in the Union of European Football Associations' Champions League Group E game at Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday night.
In the 20th minute of the game, Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero was brought down in the box by Bayern Munich centre-back Mehdi Benatia and the referee pointed the white spot for a penalty without hesitation. Benatia was sent off by the referee as he was the last man. Aguero converted the penalty successfully, 1-0.
In the 40th minute, 10-man Bayern Munich team's Spanish 'box-to-box' -- or deep defense to deep offense -- midfielder Xabi Alonso scored with a freekick, 1-1.
Five minutes later, visitors Bayern Munich came back when their Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scored in the area, 2-1. Lewandowski aimed for a header, however the ball flicked on his shoulder and beat City goalkeeper Joe Hart. The assist was made by Jerome Boateng.
With five minutes to go, home team Manchester City's Argentine star Aguero found the net on a breakaway, 2-2.
In stoppage time, Aguero took the stage once again by putting the ball in the back of the net. Argentine forward got his team off the hook, 3-2. This completed his hat-trick.
This remarkable win against Bayern Munich allowed Manchester City to keep their hopes alive for moving up in the Champions League. The English team has 5 points, and climbed to third place in the group with a game to spare. Their opponents Russian team CSKA Moscow and Italy's Roma also have 5 points each in Group E.
Union website UEFA.com stated that the Group G game between Sporting Lisbon and Maribor in Lisbon has been suspended due to a floodlighting failure at Jose Alvalade stadium. However, the game recommenced after about 50 minutes.
In the meantime, Barcelona's Argentine star forward Lionel Messi has become the all-time leading goal scorer in the Champions League with a total of 74 goals. The record in this category formerly belonged to Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez scoring 71 goals in 142 appearances.
Messi set the record at the 37th minute of the match against Greek Cypriot Administration team APOEL in Group F, eventually scoring a hat-trick to help "Barca" cruised past their opponents 4-0.
Results of the day are as follows:
BATE Borisov 0-3 Porto
CSKA Moscow 1-1 Roma
Manchester City 3-2 Bayern Munich
APOEL 0-4 Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Ajax
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Athletic Bilbao
Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Maribor
