Man City have two game changers who showed they are different players vs Napoli

Manchester City began their Champions League campaign with a win against Napoli and Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku were key to the victory.

As Pep Guardiola pondered how to break down a deep Napoli defence at half-time of this Champions League tie, two players would have been on his mind.

Erling Haaland might have the firepower to open the game, but first, City needed to get the ball to him in dangerous areas. That would involve disrupting a supremely organised Antonio Conte defence.

To achieve that, you need a player capable of something different, of finding a way to unpick the lock when it looks like it's been clamped shut for the night. Enter Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.

They are probably the two players capable of transforming this City side from a group that looks like it is tentatively entering a new era to one that can challenge for titles domestically and in Europe.

Foden needed a bright start to this season to banish the demons that lingered from a disappointing 2024/25, and he has got just that. He produced a second excellent performance in a week and suddenly looks a shoo-in for one of the central attacking roles in this midfield.

His wonderful assistant for Erling Haaland's opener unlocked the game for City and allowed them to break down a deep defence with a moment of genius, which the Norwegian striker brilliantly converted.

As for Doku, he had accepted he needed to add goals and assists to his repertoire, rather than just making defenders dizzy with his relentless dribbling. This was an outstanding goal that again left you excited for what the 23-year-old could do if he finds an end product to go with his skills and tricks.

It's been quite the week for the Belgian. He created two goals in the Manchester derby win on Sunday afternoon, got baptised on Sunday night and then scored a superb individual goal against Napoli on Thursday.

The contributions of Foden and Doku ensured City got off to the start they wanted in Europe. Guardiola felt last season's underperformance in the Champions League was even worse than the Premier League. At least they got the chance to try and right the ship in the Premier League. Unfortunately, their bleak autumn coincided with the heart of the European schedule.

That left him vulnerable in the play-off round and they weren't back on track by the time Real Madrid were the opposition. That was their European adventure over for the season.

It had all began with a goalless draw against Italian opposition at the Etihad and Guardiola felt that result lingered over the rest of the campaign, so getting off to a good start this time was vital. Napoli had the capacity to be awkward opposition, but when captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent-off after just 20 minutes, their ambitions changed.

For more than half an hour, they were tough to break down and there were signs of agitation, only for two of City's most creative players to make the difference. If that happens a little more regularly this season then it could turn into a very good one indeed for Guardiola and his team.

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