Reigning European champions, Manchester City, defeated Copenhagen (3-1) in the first leg on Wednesday March 6 to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the seventh year in a row.
Pep Guardiola had the luxury of resting some of his knots, buoyed by the success of the round of 16 first leg in Denmark and the quality of his understudies. 19 and 20-year-olds Rico Luiz and Oscar Bob were already fish in water when the Champions League anthem was played.
On the bench, captain Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne also watched their partners watered down against a Copenhagen side rarely invited to the big European bath. In less than ten minutes, the visitors had the ball in the back of the net twice, enough to herald a very long evening.
Unbeaten in his last twenty matches
Defender Manuel Akanji, like the attacker, on a corner from Julian Alvarez (5th, 1-0), before the world champion of Argentina scored in return, with the help of a total foul from the hands of the goalkeeper (9th) , 2-0). At the conclusion of a well-led counterattack with Ori Oscarsson, one of Copenhagen’s three midfielders under 20, the meeting was barely restarted by Mohamed Elyunoussi (29th, 2-1).
The main gunner, Erling Haaland, ended all suspense by adding the 29th goal to his collection this season: control between two players, ball defense, hook and cross shot (90ᵉ+3, 3-1). His passer, Rodri, gave up his place at halftime for the least-used Sergio Gomez. Ruben Dias later replaced Haaland, 18-year-old Jacob Wright, late in the match.
The only hiccup came from Matthews Nunes’ left arm injury, which was forced out in favor of Micah Hamilton. For the rest, it was a perfect evening for Pep Guardiola ahead of the clash against Championship leaders Liverpool, who they trail by a point, at Anfield on Sunday.
The reigning English and European champions are attacking with their feet on the floor at home this season, with sparkling form fueling the dream of a new treble (along with the FA Cup). On Wednesday, they extended their unbeaten run to twenty matches, in all competitions, at a stadium where they haven’t lost a European match since 2018.
Another statistic shows Manchester City’s omnipotence, especially in the Champions League: the English have now won eight in eight matches this season, with three goals scored each time.
Real Madrid are scared
For its part, held on its lawn by Leipzig (1-1), Real Madrid confirmed its ticket to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday. However, it was done with pain, thanks to their advantage in the first leg (1-0) and the goal of Vinicius. The Madrilenians really suffered again against a German side that will long regret dominating the twice great Real without being able to bring them down. A first foray into the European scene – without a result – after seven wins in seven matches for the Merengue club, for whom elimination at this stage of the competition was a resounding failure.
To celebrate its 122 years of existence, Real wanted to finish the job and remind, written on the tinfoil placed before the match, that it “King of Europe”, with its fourteen continental crowns. But a tactical move attempted by Carlo Ancelotti, who decided to deprive himself of Brazilian Rodrigo’s kick-off and bring a surplus in the middle thanks to the versatile Federico Valverde. English prodigy Jude Bellingham was the first victim of this selection, showing himself very comfortable in the 4-4-2 pattern from the start of the season with twenty goals in thirty matches.
Newsletter
“Paris 2024”
“Le Monde” explains the news and challenges of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Register
With two players on him almost every time in the middle alone and often with the goal behind him, Bellingham tried to get away from it all but was unable to make his usual impact and the end of the first half showed a certain irritation.
Vinicius as Savior
With the exception of Vinicius’ overhead header (12th), the Madrilenians conceded several clear-cut chances in the first period, inaccurate and harmless, as in the first leg in Germany, which could have cost them dearly. Fortunately for them, they were not converted on three occasions (13th, 15th, 42nd) by the unreal former Lensois Lois Openda nor by Dutch hope Xavi Simmons (41st) and both teams returned to the locker room. Ct
Symbolizing the frustration of the Madrid players, Vinicius then came close to a red card after violently shoving Orban (54th), away from the proceedings. But as in Valencia last week, “Vinny”, until now well-muddled by ex-Monaco defender Benjamin Heinrich, found fault with the counter led by Bellingham to free the Bernabeu (65ᵉ, 1-0). Short-lived joy for the Merengue supporters, who were left reeling again barely a minute later after Xavi Simmons’ shot was narrowly deflected by Rudiger (66th).
As the thousands of Germans who had traveled rejoiced in his return, captain Orb brought his team within a goal of extra time with an uncrossed header past Nacho (68th, 1-1). Leipzig’s players continued to believe their luck until the end and almost managed to steal thirty extra minutes, but Spanish winger Dani Olmo’s lob hit the bar at the end of extra time. Lunin (91ᵉ).
In addition to Manchester and Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain also qualified this week. The other qualified teams will be known after the other return matches of the Champions League round of 16 on March 12 and 13.
