Manchester City took one step toward reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, and defending their European crown, as they beat Copenhagen 3-1 in the Danish capital on Tuesday.
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Pep Guardiola’s side entered the knockout rounds as overwhelming favorites to lift, and retain, the Champions League trophy, and they remain on course to do so.
Manchester City’s first real threat came in the 6th minute, when Ruben Dias rose highest to head Bernardo Silva’s cross down at the back post, but goalkeeper Kamil Grabara was quick to scramble across his goal line and palm the ball away. The rebound came to Nathan Ake too quickly, and he booted his follow-up effort over the crossbar.
Four minutes later, their next chance and the game’s opening goal. Dias played a cross-field diagonal to Phil Foden on the right wing, and Foden quickly played Kevin De Bruyne in behind through the right channel. Rather than crossing for one of two teammates making runs centrally, De Bruyne guided a pinpoint, first-time finish just inside the far post to give the reigning European champions an early lead.
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Not long before halftime, in the 34th minute, Copenhagen hit back — very much against the run of play — to make it 1-1, thanks in part to a misplaced pass from Ederson. The Brazilian was forced to hit a one-timer with a defender bearing down inside his own six-yard box, and he missed his mark by almost 10 yards, instead finding the feet of Mohamed Elyounoussi. His shot was blocked, but the rebound fell to Magnus Mattsson, who uncorked a sensational curler into the upper corner from just outside the penalty area. A rare half-chance at best, but level nonetheless.
Copenhagen nearly kept the 1-1 scoreline intact until halftime, but those pesky treble winners never relented. It wasn’t the most beautiful goal they’ll score all season, with De Bruyne effectively playing the through ball with a tackle, but it was ruthless and opportunistic to fashion a scoring chance from such an innocuous situation. After De Bruyne put a foot in to win the ball, it caromed off him and into Silva’s path at the corner of the six. Silva flicked it home first-time with the outside of his left foot, making it look far easier than it really was.
2-1 would have been an acceptable result for Copenhagen, to head to Manchester for the second leg with something of a chance to cause an all-time upset, and they so nearly made it reality. But, as established, the three-time defending Premier League champions simply never relent. Foden fed De Bruyne, who fed Foden right back, as the two of them danced and passed their way down the right side of the box. When De Bruyne played a cut-back ball, Foden was all by his lonesome to hammer home from eight yards out and plant one of Manchester City’s proverbial feet in the quarterfinals.
What’s next?
Manchester City will welcome Copenhagen to Etihad Stadium for the second leg on Wednesday, March 6, with four PL fixtures and an FA Cup fifth-round tie to come in the interim.
Player ratings - Copenhagen vs Manchester City
Copenhagen vs Manchester City, final score: 1-3
Goalscorers: Kevin De Bruyne (10'), Magnus Mattsson (34'), Bernardo Silva (45'+1), Phil Foden (90'+2)
10th minute - GOAL - Kevin De Bruyne places a perfect finish for 1-0
IT HAD TO BE KEVIN DE BRUYNE 😤 pic.twitter.com/eLA8BfwgQu
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 13, 2024
34th minute - GOAL - Magnus Mattsson curls home the equalizer after Ederson’s mistake
SIGNS FOR COPENHAGEN 10 DAYS AGO. SCORES ON HIS #UCL DEBUT. MAGNUS MATTSSON, HAVE A DAY 👏 pic.twitter.com/sonPvXsG3Z
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 13, 2024
45th minute +1 - GOAL - Bernardo Silva flicks Man City back into the lead
Achievement Unlocked: assist with a tackle. KDB is on another level. 👏 pic.twitter.com/pJ3iUnYTKF
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 13, 2024
90th minute +2 - GOAL - De Bruyne finds Phil Foden for a late dagger
Foden ➡️ KDB ➡️ Foden 💥
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 13, 2024
Man City secure the W in Denmark to continue their 7-game #UCL winning streak 💯 pic.twitter.com/rYOnLb1i8K
How to watch Copenhagen vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, Tuesday (February 13)
How to watch: Paramount+ and TUDN USA
Manchester City starting lineup
Ederson — Walker, Stone, Dias, Ake — Rodrigo, Bernardo, De Bruyne — Foden, Grealish, Haaland
Copenhagen starting lineup
Grabara — Jelert, Vavro, McKenna, Diks — Falk, Mattsson, Goncalves — Elyounoussi, Achouri, Claesson
Manchester City focus, team news
As we mentioned, Manchester City have zero injury issues and they even had the luxury of starting Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish on the bench on Saturday. That quartet came on as Erling Haaland scored twice in the final 20 minutes to seal a deserved win against Everton as City are once again looking to complete the treble and are hunting down Liverpool in the Premier League as they also have a game in-hand.
City went perfect in the Champions League group stage with six wins from six as they scored 18 goals in the process. In the build-up to this game Guardiola hinted at rotating City’s lineup a little bit and also urged Haaland to stay calm when chances aren’t calming his way.
“We don’t put pressure on him and say you have to score goals for us. No. We said get involved with what we do and the rest will come naturally. He is so strong mentally after one goal, he wants a second one and then a third. You see his numbers at his age - in the Champions League even Messi does not have these numbers art his age. It’s unbelievable. He has scored goals everywhere all the time. He has a special mentality and attributes and skills. We are delighted to have him. And we are delighted he is back after two months out.”
Copenhagen focus, team news
Being in the last 16 is a huge bonus for Copenhagen and they have absolutely nothing to lose. As we saw in their games against Manchester United, they’re more than happy to go for it and they’ll whip crosses into the box and launch counters whenever they can. Their stars are Mohamed Elyounoussi, teenager Roony Bardghji who scored the winner against United at Parken in the group stage and winger Diogo Goncalves as they share goals around and are a brave team. Watch out for Rasmus Falk and Elias Achouri too.