[ad_1]
Manchester City struck two early goals against FC Copenhagen to put themselves in a dominant position in their hunt for a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
The defending champions won the first leg 3-1 and needed just five minutes to stretch that advantage in the second leg, with centre-back Manuel Akanji volleying exquisitely from a Julian Alvarez corner.
In the ninth minute, Alvarez doubled the lead with a cross-shot straight at goalkeeper Kamil Grabara – only for the former Liverpool gloveman to horribly let it slip through his hands into the net.
Speaking on Sky Sports, former England star Paul Merson claimed: “My six-year-old would have caught that!”
Grabara, the captain, infamously had a public spat with Socceroos keeper Maty Ryan over the starting position at Copenhagen, leading to Ryan leaving the club for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands.
But Copenhagen hit back through an exceptional counter-attack just before the half-hour mark, with former Southampton star Mohamed Elyounoussi finishing off a well-worked move.
City rested a host of stars for the second leg, making seven changes from their 3-1 win over Manchester United on the weekend.
It comes ahead of a massive clash with Premier League title rivals Liverpool on the weekend, with coach Pep Guardiola taking the opportunity to rest his first team following the strong first-leg result.
Phil Foden, who was man of the match against United with two goals, was benched along with Kevin de Bruyne, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and Bernardo Silva. Belgian winger Jeremy Doku did not make the bench in a potential injury concern.
Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodrigo and Erling Haaland kept their spots in the starting XI.
REAL MADRID IN TIGHT BATTLE
Meanwhile, Real Madrid are locked in a tricky tussle with RB Leipzig. The game is goalless after half an hour, after Madrid won the first leg 1-0.
Real Madrid (4-4-2) Andriy Lunin; Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho Fernandez (capt), Ferland Mendy; Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde; Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior
RB Leipzig (4-4-2) Peter Gulacsi; Benjamin Henrichs, Castello Lukeba, Willi Orban (capt), David Raum; Xaver Schlager, Amadou Haidara, Dani Olmo, Xavi Simons; Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko
FOLLOW LIVE
Follow the action from Madrid and Leipzig live below!
[ad_2]
Source link