It was a blistering opening 20 minutes from the two Premier League sides in the Champions League that broke one record and threatened several others.
When Tottenham Hotspur turned up at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening with a slender single-goal lead, many, including your truly, expected the opening stages to be a little cagey. Oh, how wrong could would be!
Goal-fest at the Etihad
An incredible opening 45 minutes of football comes to a close at the Etihad Stadium with Man City 3-2 ahead on the day, though it is 3-3 on aggregate and Tottenham will go through on away goals as things stands.
Sterling scored the first of his two goals four minutes in with a curled finish past Lloris, but the visitors responded well as Son struck twice in three minutes to stun the reigning English champions.
Two more quickfire goals from Bernardo Silva and Sterling, all before the 21st minute, means that the tie remains delicately poised. Fingers crossed for similar drama in the second half!
Other Champions League/European Cup records
Feyenoord beat KR Reykjavík 12–2 in the first round in 1969–70. This is the overall record for all European Cup/Champions League matches.
Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw 8–4 in the group stage in 2016–17. This is the record for the Champions League era.
Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in the 1960 final. This is the overall record for all European Cup/Champions League finals.
The highest scoring draw is eight goals (four goals each):
Hamburg 4–4 Juventus in 2000–01
Chelsea 4–4 Liverpool in 2008–09
Bayer Leverkusen 4–4 Roma in 2015–16