Manchester City Vs. Napoli, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Cavani For Napoli, Kolarov For City Makes It 1-1

For a while it looked like Manchester City might fall in their UEFA Champions League debut and at home at that. Edinson Cavani put Napoli in front of the Citizens at Eastlands and City's high-priced squad were in trouble, but then Aleksander Kolarov saved the day. He stepped to a free kick and blasted it home for the equalizer that saved City from being upset at home. Even so, it is Napoli who comes out of the match looking like the winners after managing a 1-1 draw away from home to open the competition, setting them up nicely in Group A, or more appropriately the Group of Death.

No one was able to put the scoreboard to work in the first half, but certainly not for lack of trying. The match was played at a high pace and both teams were creating chances, just not finishing them. Luck did not favor the attackers as balls just rolled too far away from players, chances missed the frame by inches and last second tackles kept the ball out. The crossbar got involved too, first denying Ezequiel Lavezzi's blast and then denying a good shot from Yaya Toure.

The chances kept coming in the second half, more so for City than Napoli. The Citizens controlled possession while Napoli defended well and looked to counter-attack. With Cavani, Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik in the attack, Napoli counter-attacks are deadly and on several occasions the English side were almost burned.

Finally in the 69th minute, Cavani made City pay on a great counter-attack. Christian Maggio took the ball away from City in Napoli's own end and went racing forward. He sprinted the length of the field as City were caught out and doing their best to retreat. Maggio went right down the center and once he got within 25 yards of goal he slipped a pass through to Cavani. The pass was perfect, hitting Cavani right in stride and the Argentine made no mistake with his shot, ripping it through the legs of Joe Hart for the go-ahead goal.

Down a goal, City turned up the pressure and almost equalized right back, but the crossbar kept a Sergio Aguero shot out. No worry though because five minutes after Cavani put Napoli on top Kolarov stepped to a free kick from the right corner of the penalty box. His shot cleared the wall and then dipped under the post, leaving Morgan De Sanctis without a chance as the Citizens leveled.

Both sides created a couple more chances down the stretch, but the match was on its way to a 1-1 draw. Up a goal with 21 minutes left, Napoli might have been eying a win, but a draw is still a fine result for them and in truth, a disappointing one for City on the first Champions League match day for Group A.

Napoli's lead over Manchester City has lasted all of five minutes. Edinson Cavani put the Italians on top, but right back on the other side it was Aleksander Kolarov ripping a free kick that left Morgan De Sanctis rooted to the spot as City equalized in the 74th minute. It was a beautiful  20-yard free kick from near the right corner of the penalty box that cleared the Napoli wall and while some might want to see De Sanctis at least dive for the shot, the simple fact is that the shot was too good and he had no chance.

If any team were to find a winner now and break the 1-1 tie it would probably be City. They've been the better side of late and just before Kolarov got the equalizer, Sergio Aguero hit the bar so they haven't been short on chances. Aguero has been brilliant all match and he could find a winner, while Carlos Tevez is ready to come on as well. With Napoli's array of attacking talent though, City have to be careful not to lose their shape.

Napoli haven't had the bulk of the possession against Manchester City, but that doesn't mean they have been overwhelmed. They have been content to defend well and counter-attack, something they've done exquisitely and on several occasions almost gone in front. Well, thanks to Edinson Cavani, they now have gone in front. A perfect counter-attack saw Cavani finish a pass from Christian Maggio to put Napoli in front after 69 minutes.

City started the play by giving the ball away with some sloppy passing, but that was 40 yards from the Napoli goal. It is not the type of giveaway that normally leads to goals. Maggio got the ball and took off with it though, blazing his way up the center of the pitch with plenty of room to run. He got to within 25 yards of goal when he perfectly slid a pass off to the right for Cavani. The pass was right in stride for Cavani, who hit it right between Joe Hart's legs for the go-ahead goal.

It was a pretty goal for Napoli and one that has shocked City. The home side are not just looking at dropped points now, but coming away with zero points from a home match.

Manchester City and Napoli are two of the more entertaining teams in Europe so it's no surprise that they put on a first half show in their UEFA Champions League match. For 45 minutes, the match was played at a blinding pace with chances on both sides, some great passing and only some bad luck kept each side from getting on the scoreboard.The match may be scoreless, but it has been plenty exciting.

Each team's best chance saw them hit the crossbar as Ezequiel Lavezzi and Yaya Toure were each denied by the bar. Lavezzi hit the bar first, using two good touches to set him up for a shot that had Joe Hart beaten, but could only rattle the crossbar. On the other end, Toure led a break and fed David Silva, who got the ball back to Toure from 12 yards. Toure's shot was struck well, but like Lavezzi, it just couldn't get under the bar.

City have been the better side, but Napoli haven't been overwhelmed. Napoli certainly have a way to three points in this match and for 45 minutes at least, they've answered questions about whether they can defend well enough in Europe. The key for the Italians will be to continue with their organized defense so they are not punished on the counter-attack because while three points are attainable, one point would still be a very good result at Eastlands.

Even if almost no one predicts Napoli will beat Manchester City in their first Champions League tie, the home side are certainly taking this match seriously, sending out all the big guns against the partenopei. The visitors, meanwhile, have replaced Blerim Dzemaili with Walter Gargano, and Juan Zuniga starts instead of Andrea Dossena -- a slightly, slightly more defensive team from Walter Mazzarri.

Manchester City Starting XI (4-2-3-1):Joe Hart; Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Aleksandar Kolarov; Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry; David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri; Edin Dzeko

Manchester City Bench: Costel Pantilimon, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Micah Richards, Stefan Savic, Adam Johnson, Carlos Tevez

Napoli Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Morgan De Sanctis; Hugo Campagnaro, Paolo Cannavaro, Salvatore Aronica; Christian Maggio, Walter Gargano, Gokhan Inler, Juan Zuniga; Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi; Edinson Cavani

Napoli Bench: Antonio Rosati, Ignacio Fideleff, Federico Fernandez, Mario Santana, Andrea Dossena, Blerim Dzemaili, Goran Pandev

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