An Australian in north London would have tittered. Tottenham might well have been fancying this at the weekend after all. At one stage, anyway.

He used to be of this stable, Ange Postecoglou, managing Manchester City’s Japanese sister club for a few years. So he’s seen City countless times but, doing his research on Tuesday night, will not have witnessed many displays worse than this.

City looked like a team who had already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages – and that is not a criticism that can often be levelled at a relentless Pep Guardiola side. Loose, lax, occasionally lazy.

The Rodri impersonator won’t be asked back for a second gig. Ruben Dias has grown his hair so being 100 per cent certain it was definitely him out there proved difficult.

But then they woke up, they sorted a two-goal deficit, and made sure that they would go beyond Christmas as group winners, in theory securing a more comfortable last-16 tie. They preserved their long unbeaten home record in the Champions League of almost 1,900 days.

Manchester City came from 2-0 down against RB Leizpig to claim a stunning 3-2 win

Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez were among the goals as City topped their Champions League group for a seventh year in a row

Lois Openda opened the scoring for RB Leipzig in the 13th minute to shock the hosts

The 23-year-old extended Leipzig’s lead 20 minutes later to leave City with an uphill battle

They even won it at the end via Julian Alvarez, who changed the game off the bench, complementing Jeremy Doku’s electricity. Their introduction turned Phil Foden virtuoso, with a hand in all three goals.

‘Jeremy changed our rhythm and Julian is a special player,’ Guardiola said. ‘I’m very satisfied for the reaction at the end. The team runs and fights and has a spirit. That was good.’

But worries will exist for Guardiola. This was not his City for lengthy spells. Maybe it’ll be good in the long run that the performance happened on a night when defeat would not have been disastrous, more an inconvenience. ‘The first half was the worst I’ve seen us,’ Foden said. ‘Courage and motivation changed it around.’

Guardiola bemoaned the defending, the struggles to triumph from basic duels. ‘You have to win those,’ he said. ‘And we didn’t do it. We played anxiously.’

Pep Guardiola was furious with his team and half-time couldn’t have come sooner for City

However, things improved in the second half and Haaland found the back of the net for City

It threatened to ruin a day when new celebrated old around these parts. Mike Summerbee has enjoyed shorter days, although the length of this one eventually felt worth it when Alvarez was wheeling away.

He was down at the stadium just before 9am to witness the unveiling of his permanent tribute, flanked by bronzed Colin Bell and Francis Lee. Up in the directors’ box for 8pm.

Summerbee was overwhelmed by the morning occasion before a commemorative brunch inside. ‘Unbelievable,’ he said of the honour bestowed him, which also aptly described Manuel Akanji’s defending when RB Leipzig took a shock lead.

Akanji, all over the place from goalkeeper Janis Blaswich’s long punt forward, allowed Lois Openda to wriggle free and calmly sidefoot beyond Ederson’s deputy, Stefan Ortega. The lively Xavi Simons had already curled wide by the time Openda was giving the visitors a 13th-minute advantage.

Foden equalised for City with a beautifully taken goal in the 70th minute of the game

The England star wheeled away with Bernardo Silva as the Premier League outfit pushed for a winner

Openda is one of Belgium’s great young hopes, the striker attracting attention across Europe after his summer move to Germany. The country’s other major prospect, Doku, was sat on the bench watching his compatriot tear City apart. His act would come later.

One became two shortly after the half hour and again City were to blame. Lured into a challenge he would never win on halfway, Dias allowed Openda to skip towards the City box again. Taking his time, he eased aside Josko Gvardiol’s advances and tucked home.

Either side of that, Rico Lewis and Erling Haaland blazed presentable opportunities over the bar. Dias missed a sitter from Bernardo Silva’s freekick. It had been about remembering City’s past as the present rolled on effortlessly but Leipzig – fifth in the Bundesliga – were catching the defending champions cold.

Dias, who should have seen red just before the break, was sacrificed for his own good. Doku and Alvarez were sent for nine minutes into the second half and seconds later, Haaland was reducing the arrears.

Foden’s first positive contribution of the night, slipping Haaland through, came from clever work by Alvarez. The Haaland finish: typically sublime. The substitutions had livened up the Etihad. Doku’s unpredictability and desire to entertain provokes reactions. City inched closer, Nathan Ake heading wide Alvarez’s cross. ‘We made them angry,’ Leipzig boss Marco Rose conceded.

With 20 minutes remaining, City were level and Foden growing into this game was the catalyst. Gvardiol progressed forward, punching into the academy graduate on the half-turn just outside the box. One touch to set himself while pirouetting, another to push ahead and the third caressed into the corner.

Only one winner from there, right? Perhaps not, had Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho held his run that little longer, Leipzig would have been in a position to snatch it. Comeback complete though, with three minutes to spare, as Foden’s involvement again sparked confusion for Leipzig, Alvarez sorting his feet and thrashing in. Postecoglou will have been fetching the remote.

It was Alvarez who found the back of the net to secure all three points for Man City

City were already through to the knockouts but they ensured they will face a more forgiving route in the knockouts