THE VERDICT: CITY 2 NAPOLI 1

TWO of European football’s top gunslingers went eye to eye at the Etihad Stadium … and it was Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri who blinked first.

And as a result, Pep Guardiola’s City team had this game by the scruff of the neck for the first half-an-hour, knowing that the opposition was cowed.

By the time the Italian league leaders had realised what was happening, they were trailing to goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, and gasping for breath.

The Blues ended up holding on to that lead despite a strong riposte from excellent opponents, and the three points puts them on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase.

The mind games in the build-up were intriguing, with Napoli’s owner dismissing Guardiola’s claim his team was one of the three best attacking outfits in Europe this season.

Guardiola in turn dismissed the idea Napoli would rest players for their domestic clash with Inter Milan at the weekend. He said he could name the Napoli team – but it’s doubtful the side in his head had the more defensive-minded Kalidou Koulibaly and Piotr Zielinski in midfield.

That was Sarri seeming to believe that, while his team have been thrilling this season, they are not in the same league as the Blues.

If City needed any further incentive, this was it – and Napoli’s players suddenly knew that their gaffer thought the Blues had an edge.

So it was no surprise that City started like a juggernaut, and the much-vaunted Napoli were rabbits in the headlights.

The visitors were carved open by Leroy Sane’s perceptive pass for David Silva down the inside left channel, and when the Spaniard crossed and Kyle Walker’s shot was blocked, Sterling was there to snap up the goal – and briefly make himself City’s top scorer with eight for the season. That sole honour did not last long as Jesus got on the end of an inevitable, preciselydrilled Kevin de Bruyne cross to grab his eighth of the campaign, after the Belgian had harried the defence into a mistake.

That City pressing was a feature of the stunning opening to the game, in which De Bruyne also hit the bar and Jesus had a shot Pullquote attribution Sterling (9), Jesus (13) Diawara (73, pen) 54% 46% 15 5 8 4 Walker, De Bruyne, Fernandinho Maggio, Albiol Antonio Mateu Lahoz 48,520 cleared off the line. When the tempo dropped, Napoli suddenly looked like the attacking menace we had expected and when Walker unwisely wrapped his arms around Raul Albiol at a corner, they had a way back into the game.

But Dries Mertens drilled his shot to Ederson’s left and the keeper threw himself the right way to keep it out.

That was the start of a nip-and-tuck match as Napoli showed their quality.

Sarri’s team recovered to the point that an enterprising run by Faouzi Ghoulam – linked with a January move to City – was only stopped by Fernandinho’s reckless challenge.

This time Amadou Diawara beat Ederson, and set up a nervy few final minutes.