UCL: Sane-inspired Man City claim top spot

Manchester City have finished top of Group F in the Champions League thanks to a 2-1 comeback win over Hoffenheim that was inspired by Leroy Sane.
The Germany international was one of six City players to retain their place in the starting lineup on the back of the loss to Chelsea at the weekend, with the injury-hit hosts requiring a point to finish ahead of second-placed Lyon.
Needing a victory of their own and a helping hand from Lyon against Shakhtar Donetsk, Hoffenheim started the brighter of the sides as Joshua Brenet and Florian Grillitsch both fired in shots early on.
The hosts then made their spell on top count as, following shots on target from Andrej Kramaric and Leroy Sane at either end, referee Andreas Ekberg pointed to the spot for Aymeric Laporte’s grapple on Brenet.
Kramaric sent the resulting penalty down the middle to score for a ninth match running, but City could perhaps consider themselves fortunate to still have a full complement of players.
The goal did at least act as a wake-up call for the sluggish hosts, with Gabriel Jesus guiding a header against the inside of the post and Nicolas Otamendi glancing Ilkay Gundogan’s free kick against the crossbar.
Oliver Baumann was also required to keep out makeshift full-back John Stones, but the City leveller would arrive on the brink of half time through a glorious Sane goal.
The German attacker got the perfect blend of dip, power and accuracy on his free kick, sending the ball flying past Baumann 30 yards out from the final meaningful act of the first half.
Baumann recovered from that personal setback by producing a couple of top saves to keep out Laporte early in the second half, though goal would not have counted had it gone in as the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
Jesus was the next to have an effort kept out, with this latest attempt from a tight angle, while substitute Reiss Nelson met his match in Ederson at the other end.
Just when City looked to have wasted their best chance to edge in front, with Bernardo Silva failing to beat Baumann following an over-elaborate move that saw Sterling and then Sane pass up the chance to shoot from a one-on-one position, the key third goal of the match eventually arrived.
Learning from his previous mistake, Sane tucked the ball past Baumann following a quick exchange of passes with Sterling to become the first German player to score a brace against a German club in the Champions League.
A number of shots were fired in by City over the next 15 minutes, including a fierce volley from Phil Foden which Hoffenheim’s overworked keeper tipped over the bar.