LEIPZIG – Erling Haaland needed one more finish to settle a match Manchester City had twice failed to put away. His sliding effort from Elliot Anderson’s low cross delivered victory at RB Leipzig on Wednesday, while Arsenal survived their own late scare in Prague to strengthen their position in the Champions League.
City won 3-2 in Germany, with Haaland scoring in the 78th minute after Leipzig had twice equalised. Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 2-1 through first-half goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres, then had to protect that advantage after Wiktor Nowak scored in the 90th minute.
The wins left Arsenal third in the league-phase standings with 10 points from four matches and City seventh with nine. For City, the immediate consequence was a return to the top eight, the positions that bring direct passage to the round of 16 after the league phase ends. Neither club has secured qualification.
Haaland’s winner was his 13th goal in nine appearances against Leipzig, his highest total against any opponent, Sky Sports reported. It also restored City to winning ways after their Premier League defeat at Brighton. The three points did not erase the defensive problems that made another rescue necessary.
City were handed the opening goal in the 37th minute when Castello Lukeba turned Nico O’Reilly’s cross into his own net. Leipzig had threatened before falling behind, and the home side recovered four minutes after the interval when Ridle Baku’s finish beat Gianluigi Donnarumma at the near post.
Enzo Fernandez restored City’s lead with a header from Iliman Ndiaye’s cross in the 58th minute. Three minutes later, Antonio Nusa struck to make it 2-2. City had gone ahead twice and held neither advantage, leaving Haaland’s intervention to decide a game that remained open deep into the second half.
The winning move was direct: Anderson sent a low ball across the area and Haaland slid in to finish. City’s official match account described the goal as the decisive turn in a chaotic second half. Both teams later hit the woodwork, underlining how little room City had to relax before the final whistle.
Arsenal’s danger arrived differently. Gyokeres created Madueke’s ninth-minute opener, then scored himself in the 38th minute to give Mikel Arteta’s team a two-goal cushion. The visitors had done enough before halftime to put the match firmly in their control. They did not finish it off.
Slavia improved after the break and tested David Raya. The late goal came when David Jurasek sent a low cross through the penalty area and Nowak converted, Arsenal’s match report said. Five minutes of stoppage time followed, with a victory that had looked comfortable suddenly requiring another period of concentration.
Stepan Chaloupek headed over during that closing spell. Mikulas Konecny then sent a tame effort into Raya’s hands in the final seconds. Arsenal left with a third win in four league-phase games and a club-record run of 10 away Champions League matches unbeaten.
The contrast was in how the two attacks supplied their winning margins. Haaland finished City’s third lead after his teammates had surrendered the first two. Gyokeres provided a goal and an assist before halftime, giving Arsenal enough insurance to absorb Slavia’s late response. Both wins depended on forward contributions, but neither performance offered an uncomplicated defensive finish.
Arsenal’s 10 points leave them one ahead of City at the halfway point of their eight-match league-phase schedule. City’s three wins have brought nine points, while Arsenal remain unbeaten with three victories and a draw. The table rewards those totals, not how comfortably they were earned.
For Arteta, the final detail was Raya collecting the last attempt rather than another Arsenal goal. For City, it was Haaland reaching Anderson’s cross before a third lead could slip away.
