The Man City Vs SSC Napoli lineups for the UEFA Champions League group stage opener on September 18, 2025 produced a routine 2-0 home victory for Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku scoring either side of the hour mark against a Napoli side reduced to ten men from the 21st minute.
Kevin De Bruyne, lining out in the sky-blue shirt of his new club Napoli rather than City, faced his former employers for the first time after his high-profile summer departure, only for the tie to turn decisively when Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo received a straight red card inside the opening quarter of an hour.
An attendance of 49,531 witnessed a controlled second-half display from Guardiola’s side, who managed the contest efficiently through their dominant midfield structure built around Bernardo Silva and an in-form Tijjani Reijnders.
Man City Vs SSC Napoli Lineups: Starting XIs
Manchester City โ 4-3-2-1
| No. | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | GK |
| 45 | Abdukodir Husanov | RB |
| 3 | Rรบben Dias | CB |
| 24 | Joลกko Gvardiol | LB |
| 33 | Nico O’Reilly | CM |
| 16 | Rodri | DM |
| 20 | Bernardo Silva (C) | CM |
| 47 | Phil Foden | AM |
| 4 | Tijjani Reijnders | AM |
| 11 | Jeremy Doku | LW |
| 9 | Erling Haaland | ST |
SSC Napoli โ 4-3-2-1 (estimated)
| No. | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Vanja Milinkovic-Savic | GK |
| 22 | Giovanni Di Lorenzo (C) | RB |
| 31 | Stefan Beukema | CB |
| 4 | Alessandro Buongiorno | CB |
| 37 | Leonardo Spinazzola | LB |
| 68 | Stanislav Lobotka | DM |
| 21 | Matteo Politano | RM |
| 99 | Andrรฉ-Frank Zambo Anguissa | CM |
| 11 | Kevin De Bruyne | AM |
| 8 | Scott McTominay | CM |
| 19 | Rasmus Hรถjlund | ST |
Man City Vs SSC Napoli Lineups: Key Events & Substitutions
| Minute | Event | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| KO | Kick-off | โ | โ |
| 21′ | RED CARD | Giovanni Di Lorenzo | Napoli |
| 26′ | Sub | Kevin De Bruyne off / Mathรญas Olivera on | Napoli |
| 52′ | Yellow card | Matteo Politano | Napoli |
| 55′ | Sub | Matteo Politano off / Juan Jesus on | Napoli |
| 56′ | GOAL (assist: Foden) | Erling Haaland | Man City |
| 60′ | Sub | Rodri off / Nicolรกs Gonzรกlez Iglesias on | Man City |
| 65′ | GOAL (assist: Reijnders) | Jeremy Doku | Man City |
| 69′ | Sub | Jeremy Doku off / Savinho on | Man City |
| 71′ | Sub | Zambo Anguissa off / Elif Elmas on | Napoli |
| 72′ | Sub | Lobotka off / Billy Gilmour on | Napoli |
| 72′ | Sub | Rasmus Hรถjlund off / David Neres on | Napoli |
| 80′ | Sub (triple) | Gvardiol off / Akรฉ on; Reijnders off / Bobb on; Haaland off / Riyad Lewis on | Man City |
| 90+5′ | Offside | Haaland (already off) noted in timeline | Man City |
| FT | Full-time | Man City 2-0 Napoli | โ |
Manchester City Substitutes (Full Bench)
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | James Trafford |
| 6 | Nathan Akรฉ |
| 13 | Marco Bettinelli |
| 14 | Nicolรกs Gonzรกlez Iglesias |
| 26 | Savinho |
| 27 | Matheus Nunes |
| 52 | Oscar Bobb |
| 63 | Daniel Mukasa |
| 82 | Riyad Lewis |
| 91 | S. Mfuni |
SSC Napoli Substitutes (Full Bench)
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Meret |
| 3 | Mario Gutiรฉrrez |
| 5 | Juan Jesus |
| 6 | Billy Gilmour |
| 7 | David Neres |
| 17 | Mathรญas Olivera |
| 20 | Elif Elmas |
| 25 | Matteo Ferrante |
| 26 | A. Vergara |
| 27 | Lorenzo Lucca |
| 69 | G. Ambrosino |
| 70 | Noa Lang |
Match Statistics
| Stat | Man City | Napoli |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 2 | 0 |
| Goals | Haaland 56′, Doku 65′ | โ |
| Red Cards | โ | Di Lorenzo 21′ |
| Yellow Cards | โ | Politano 52′ |
| Venue | Etihad Stadium, Manchester | โ |
| Attendance | 49,531 | โ |
| Referee | Felix Zwayer (Germany) | |
| Fourth Official | Florian Badstรผbner | โ |
| VAR | Christian Dingert | โ |
| Assistant VAR | Bastian Dankert | โ |
| Competition | UEFA Champions League | โ |
| Date | September 18, 2025 | โ |
Match Context
De Bruyne’s early substitution in the 26th minute โ just five minutes after Di Lorenzo’s dismissal โ indicated Napoli’s management were prioritising defensive reorganisation over maintaining their attacking shape, with the Belgian replaced by full-back Olivera to shore up the weakened right flank.
Haaland’s 56th-minute opener, assisted by Phil Foden, was the Norwegian’s first Champions League goal of the new campaign and continued a record of clinical finishing against Italian opposition across his European career.
Doku’s 65th-minute effort, created by Reijnders who registered his second assist in the same fixture having also set up the opener, reflected the Belgian winger’s directness and pace on the left channel that has become one of City’s primary attacking weapons under Guardiola.
Napoli’s heavy use of their substitution allocation โ making five changes between the 55th and 72nd minutes โ underlined the scale of the tactical disruption caused by Di Lorenzo’s early dismissal, which effectively ended any realistic prospects of a result from the Partenopei’s perspective well before the halfway point of the second period.
