Manchester City Star Reveals Personal Tragedy Struck Before His Goal in the Champions League

Published 09/16/2021, 3:17 PM EDT

Nathan Ake’s goal in City’s match against Leipzig was overshadowed by a tragic personal loss for the Dutchman. The Manchester City centre-back scored his first-ever UEFA Champions League goal and then heard about the tragedy just moments later.

He uploaded a post on his Instagram account and talked about how the entire ordeal changed him. His father had been ill for a long time and passed away just a few minutes after Ake’s goal. Manchester City won the match by a scoreline of 6-3 against RB Leipzig in one of the most interesting matches of the season, but the unfortunate incident means much more than that.

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“The past few weeks have been the toughest of my life, my dad has been very ill, and there was no more treatment possible. I was lucky to have a lot of support from my fiancé, family and friends,” Ake wrote.

He revealed how his dad loved watching him play football and that he’ll always be with him. His father passed away with Ake’s mother and brother by his side.

“Yesterday, after a difficult time, I scored my first Champions League goal, and only a few minutes after, he passed away peacefully with my mum and brother by his side. Maybe it was meant to be. Watching me play always made him proud and happy. I know you’re always with me, you will always be in my heart, and this one was for you, dad,” he revealed.

Nathan Ake scores in Manchester City rout

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It was City’s first UCL match of the season, and Pep Guardiola was gearing up for a tough match against Leipzig. The Manchester team went wild at home as all the goals were scored by six different players (five from City’s squad). Nathan Ake was the one who got the opener in the 16th minute.

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Christopher Nkunku was the man of the match for the visitors as he scored a hattrick, scoring all three goals for Leipzig. While he did get the match ball, he couldn’t guide his team over the finish line.

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Aniket Awasthi is a football writer at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for football to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford as his favorite players, but he is a great admirer of Karim Benzema too.

Manchester City Star Reveals Personal Tragedy Struck Before His Goal in the Champions League

Nathan Ake scores in Manchester City rout

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