Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich: Score, Grades, Reaction from Champions League

Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick—two goals coming in the final five minutes—to lift Manchester City to a vital 3-2 victory over 10-man Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Aguero had given City the lead from the penalty spot following Medhi Benatia's deserved 20th-minute dismissal, but goals from Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski in the five minutes prior to half-time had left City's qualification hopes hanging by a thread.

The hosts toiled in front of a subdued Etihad Stadium looking for an equaliser, but two late mistakes—from Alonso and Jerome Boateng respectively—allowed Aguero to score twice in a matter of minutes to turn the match, and the race for second in the group, on its head.

With CSKA Moscow drawing with Roma earlier in the night, City now know they will qualify for the last 16 with a victory over the Italians next month—as long as CSKA do not also follow in their footsteps and beat Bayern (who are already guaranteed top spot) at the Allianz Arena.

Considering the hole the English side were in at different points in the night, it was a remarkable turnaround.

Afterwards Aguero told ITV, "I am very happy. For us the three points are very important. We are happy now because this game was very important, and now we have to win the next game."

Aguero's manager, Manuel Pellegrini, paid tribute to what he saw as a complete team effort.

"All the big teams need big players," Pellegrini said to ITV. "Sergio is a top player. But the whole team continued with trust until the end.

"There are a lot of different options...it depends on what CSKA do against Bayern Munich. But we are always feeling positive."

Michael Regan/Getty Images

City were handed something of a boost prior to kick-off, thanks to CSKA Moscow's late equaliser in the other group game between the Russians and Italian side Roma. That meant City knew they could not be eliminated Tuesday even if they lost to Bayern—although it also meant that even wins in both their final group games might not be quite good enough to send them into the knockout stages.

Nevertheless, City started as if buoyed by the change in circumstances, attacking a Bayern team that had a slightly unfamiliar look to it due to a host of recent injuries. Sebastian Rode started his first Champions League match in midfield alongside the similarly raw Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, although Pep Guardiola's preferred frontline remained intact—Lewandowski, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

City had selection issues of their own thanks to the suspensions for Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, meaning Pellegrini handed important midfield roles to Fernando and Frank Lampard. The latter, playing off Aguero, started brightly. Bayern created the better early chances, though, Rode and Robben both missing the target from inside the box as the visitors dominated possession from the off.

City only really created their first moment of true danger in the 20th minute, but from it would come the game's opener. Benatia and Boateng seemed to be playing a dangerous game with their high defensive line, and when a lofted ball from midfield released the Argentine in behind them, it left Benatia scrambling to make up the ground.

Even with that being the case, the defender's decision to lunge in and try to win the ball was woefully misguided, with the referee given little choice but to award a penalty and dismiss the former Roma player.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Aguero took the penalty himself and, despite the looming presence of Manuel Neuer, made no mistake, beating the German to his left-hand side.

Guardiola did not panic despite the prospect of playing the remaining 70 minutes with just 10 men, although the unfortunate Rode was sacrificed to reinforce the backline with Dante. Bayern continued to pass the ball around with ease and intent, but their slight change in shape seemed to upset their rhythm in the final third. City could not take advantage, however, with Lampard going closest with a typically powerful long-range strike.

Five minutes before half-time Bayern got on terms, although City will be disappointed at how it unfolded. Good work from Lewandowski on the edge of the box saw him tripped by Eliaquim Mangala. Using the wall as a shield, Alonso nonchalantly curled a low shot inside Joe Hart's far post.

Guardiola was elated by the strike, but soon enough it would get even better for the Spaniard. Again there was a certain amount of fortune for the visitors. Boateng's cross was into a perfect area, but Lewandowski seemed to head the ball off his shoulder as it looped up and around Hart before clipping the post on its way into the back of the net.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Losing to Bayern would be no embarrassment for any side, but losing to a Bayern side forced to play for 70 minutes with 10 men would not reflect well on City or Pellegrini, especially considering it would leave their qualification hopes hanging by a thread. In the second half the Premier League champions would push forward with intent, although it would take them a while to turn that into an equaliser.

Bayern continued to edge possession in the second 45, but that did not translate into changes, with Alonso failing to find the top corner with one effort and Robben also blasting wide from outside the area. City, in contrast, kept knocking on the door—Neuer forced to deal with a number of high balls into the box as James Milner and Vincent Kompany both went close.

The equaliser, when it finally arrived five minutes from time, was from an uncharacteristic Bayern mistake. Alonso had been almost perfect all evening, but he erred considerably when he sent his cross-field pass straight at substitute Stevan Jovetic.

That allowed Aguero to run clean through on goal, and he finished in typically clinical fashion off Neuer's post to make it 2-2.

"

MCFC 2-2 BAYERN. AGUEROOOOOO #aguero #second #goal #bayern #vine https://t.co/uRd8U8n0Ey

— Alex Wood (@AlexWood30) November 25, 2014"

Then, in injury time, Aguero completed his hat-trick to make City's qualification prospects immeasurably better. Again Jovetic was involved, and again an individual mistake from a Bayern player let the side down.

This time it was Boateng who was the culprit, as he failed to deal with Jovetic's flick-on from Kompany's long ball. Aguero nipped in and sped past the World Cup winner, beating Neuer for the third time on the night to clinch all three points.

Now level on points with both CSKA Moscow and Roma, City still have work to do if they are to qualify for the knockout rounds. But thanks to Aguero, they have a great chance of doing exactly that, something that looked highly improbable at more than one point over the course of the night.

"It was an awkward game," Kompany, also speaking to ITV, concluded. "They did not have many chances but they were lethal. We defeated a big team today.

"He [Aguero] is our special player, and when he is in that form he makes things achievable that otherwise wouldn't be."

On the upcoming match against Roma, the Belgian added, "We will take a lot of fans with us and the atmosphere will be incredible. I'm looking forward to that game."

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Player Ratings

Player	Rating
Joe Hart	6
Bacary Sagna	7
Vincent Kompany	7
Eliaquim Mangala	7
Gael Clichy	7
Fernando	8
James Milner	7
Samir Nasri	7
Jesus Navas	6
Frank Lampard	7
Sergio Aguero	9
Substitutions
Stevan Jovetic	7
Pablo Zabaleta	7
Martin Demichelis	n/a

Player	Rating
Manuel Neuer	6
Rafinha	6
Jerome Boateng	6
Medhi Benatia	5
Juan Bernat	7
Sebastian Rode	6
Xabi Alonso	6
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg	7
Arjen Robben	7
Franck Ribery	7
Robert Lewandowski	7
Substitutions
Dante	7
Bastian Schweinsteiger	6
Xherdan Shaqiri	6

What's Next?

Matchday 6 in this group is on December 10, as City travel to face Roma in Italy. Bayern Munich host CSKA Moscow in Germany at the same time, with both matches able to affect the final group standings.

Before that, however, it is back to domestic matters. City visit Southampton this weekend, while Bayern travel to face Hertha Berlin as they look to keep their unbeaten league run going.

Quotes taken from ITV's live post-match broadcast.