Man City vs Copenhagen LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Erling Haaland secures spot in last-eight
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Manchester City move into the quarter-finals with a comfortable and easy 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen at the Etihad Stadium.
Any nerves were settled in the opening minutes as Manuel Akanji met a Julian Alvarez corner to volley home the opening goal and it wasn’t long before the second goal went in.
Alvarez took control of a clearance out of the box before fizzinf a ball back into the middle and seeing Kamil Grabara fumble the ball over the line.
Copenhagen threatened to mount a comeback after a fine finish from Mohamed Elyounssi after the visitors broke up the pitch but Erling Haaland’s strike before half-time secured a spot in the next round.
Relive the live action in the blog below and get the latest odds and tips here.
Man City vs Copenhagen
Man City are the leading scorers in the competition with 21 goals from seven games.
Pep Guardiola’s side have shown remarkable consistency too, scoring three in every one of their games. They have been particularly lethal in the last 10 minutes, scoring seven of their goals after the 80-minute mark.
Man City team changes
Pep Guardiola makes seven changes to the City line-up that started the Manchester derby last weekend. The players that remain in the team are Ederson in goal, Ruben Dias in defence, Rodri in midfield and Erling Haaland up front.
In come Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Mathues Nunes, Oscar Bobb and Julian Alvarez.
Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne start on the bench.
Man City line-up
Man City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bobb, Alvarez, Nunes, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Stones, Ake, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Gomez, Foden, Wright, Susoho, Hamilton
Man City vs Copenhagen
Phil Foden has seven goals and two assists in his last eight games in all competitions. Will he step up and perform again this evening or will Pep Guardiola rest him for a vital Premier League clash this weekend?
Pep Guardiola makes huge Phil Foden claim after Manchester derby masterclass
Pep Guardiola described Phil Foden as “world class” and the player of the season after the winger scored a match-winning double in the Manchester derby.
Manchester City were trailing to a Marcus Rashford goal before Foden struck twice, to take his tally to 18 goals for the campaign, in a 3-1 victory.
It led Guardiola to say the 23-year-old will become a legend, stating: “Winning games is when you become a world-class player. Everyone can play good but you have to win games and he wins games. What can I say?”
Pep Guardiola makes huge Phil Foden claim after Manchester derby masterclass
Foden inspired Man City to victory from 1-0 down against Manchester United with two sublime goals
Man City and Copenhagen’s last meeting
Manchester City made it seven wins from seven in this season’s competition – and nine straight Champions League victories – in Denmark.
Kevin De Bruyne’s 10th-minute opener gave them an early advantage at Parken though Magnus Mattsson marked his Copenhagen debut with a fine equaliser in the 34th minute.
City were back in front before half-time through Bernardo Silva and took a firm grip on the tie when Phil Foden curled in a third two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match.
Haaland on coping with missing chances
When City were 1-0 down, Erling Haaland missed a huge chance in the Manchester derby at the weekend to equalise. For 15 minutes or so he played on knowing that his team should be level before Phil Foden slotted in their first goal.
City went on the win 3-1 with Haaland scoring their third. His miss did not seem to affect the rest of his game, though that has not always been the case.
He explained: “It has been a challenge for me. When I was young, I could start crying if we lost and I missed chances.
“It is a mental thing, I don’t have any exercises but it is something I have been working naturally on. It is like everything in life, if you overthink it is it is not good. I have got one career and I try to have the best career possible and become the best version of myself.”
He added: “Last year [as] top scorer I got 36 goals and this season I have 18 so you can think in two ways if I have a good season or not. But, yeah, I miss a lot of chances. I will still miss a lot of chances and score goals.
“I will probably miss a big chance in the future and people will criticise me. I missed the biggest chance in the world two days ago.”
Hunger for trophies still there for Haaland
Erling Haaland says winning a treble with Manchester City last season has let him with a desire to win more trophies and silverware for the club.
He said: “You can think about it in two ways: one thing I came here and won it all and the other thing, I am 23 and won everything and I got the taste of it and how I work is when I feel this, I want to win it again. Easy as that.”
Erling Haaland deflects Real Madrid transfer talk to focus on new Man City target
Erling Haaland has declared that winning the treble has increased his hunger to do it all again as he insisted he is very happy at Manchester City.
The Norwegian, who has long been linked with Real Madrid, said he is not yet thinking about extending his deal at the Etihad Stadium, which runs until 2027, but is instead concentrating on repeating last season’s success.
Haaland scored 52 goals in his debut year for City as they won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League and Pep Guardiola’s side have the chance to repeat the feat.
Erling Haaland deflects Real Madrid transfer talk to focus on new Man City target
The Norwegian has been linked with Real Madrid but insists he is content in Manchester
Man City vs Copenhagen prediction
Following their comfortable victory away in Denmark, Manchester City bring a two-goal cushion into the second leg.
They shouldn’t need it as Pep Guardiola’s men are drilled to win every game they play and have the ability, even with their squad players, to go through in comfort.
Manchester City 3-1 Copenhagen (6-2 agg.)
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