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COPENHAGEN 1-3 MAN CITY: Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva were enough to give Pep Guardiola’s men the lead in their Champions League last-16 clash against the Danish champions.
Manchester City have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after beating lively Copenhagen 3-1 in Denmark.
Reigning champions City were rewarded for their dominant start when Kevin De Bruyne broke the deadlock in the 11th minute with a fine low shot. As Erling Haaland and company threatened to double the visitors’ lead, an injury to Jack Grealish gave Copenhagen a moment to breathe and they capitalized on City’s first mistake, which came courtesy of a mistake by Ederson while playing in from the back.
Debutant Magnus Mattsson scored the brilliant equalizer from distance, but Copenhagen’s joy was short-lived as Bernardo Silva’s quick reactions inside the penalty area allowed the Portuguese to regain the lead for City just before the break. However, Pep Guardiola would have wanted more and he finally got it when Phil Foden added a third for City’s 11th consecutive victory in all competitions.
Here are five talking points from Parken Stadium.
1. De Bruyne extends his notable profitability record
As would be expected from Manchester City at this time of year, Pep Guardiola’s men started the game quickly. City often have to be patient, like against Everton on Saturday, but not this time.
After wasting an early opportunity that he felt he should have taken better advantage of, Kevin De Bruyne contributed to his seventh goal in as many games since returning from injury by beating Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. The opportunity was created by a clever pass from Phil Foden, which found De Bruyne on the right side of the penalty area and the Belgian midfielder made no mistake in the second half in calling for City to go 1-0 up.
That was his 15th goal in the Champions League in the light blue shirt and, surprisingly, 12 of them came in the round of 16.
2. Grealish risks incurring the wrath of Guardiola
Despite the advantage, not everything was rosy for City in the first 20 minutes. Jack Grealish, back in the starting eleven after five consecutive games on the bench, went down with visible discomfort after a challenge by Swedish striker Viktor Claesson. Initially, the England international wanted to move on, leaving Guardiola bewildered by the response and standing with his hands on his hips.
The City boss finally got his wish and Jeremy Doku was recalled from his brief warm-up, as the speedster replaced a despondent Grealish on what looked to be a potentially prosperous night for the 28-year-old. It was then Phil Foden’s turn to receive treatment as the playmaker fell to the ground in the center circle after setting up another City attack. Fortunately for Guardiola, Foden did not need to be replaced.
3. Ederson Howler gives Mattsson the dream goal
With an 11th consecutive victory in sight thanks to their dominant start, perhaps Manchester City should have remembered what happened to neighbors United when they were leading in Copenhagen three months ago. Parken’s men are not to be counted out as the unforgiving atmosphere propelled their team towards what turned out to be a dramatic draw.
It was Ederson who sniffed out the hosts, as the City goalkeeper misplaced his pass towards the left side of the defence, allowing former Southampton and Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi to intercept. His shot was blocked by Ruben Dias, but the ball fell straight to new signing Magnus Mattsson, who produced a superb first-time effort from 20 yards that flew past Ederson.
The Danish midfielder was playing his first competitive game for the club since arriving from Dutch side NEC Nijmegen and he will never forget it. Unlike the jubilant Copenhagen boss Jacob Neestrup, an animated Guardiola was furious; arguing with John Stones even as the game had restarted, while the look from him to Ederson a few minutes later said it all.
4. Bernardo’s brilliance summarized
It is difficult to quantify a player like Bernardo Silva. Will he score the most goals for you? No. Will he be the one who will create the most? Many times not. But what he is brilliant at is the more intangible aspects of a footballer, one of which he demonstrated to allow City to breathe a huge sigh of relief sitting in the dressing room at half-time.
Anticipating that De Bruyne would win a challenge inside the 18-yard box, Bernardo gambled on the direction of the ball and was the only man close enough to prevent it from passing towards Grabara. With a deft movement of his left leg, the former Monaco player flicked the ball into the back of the net and the Parken crowd eventually fell almost silent just before half-time.
Your turn! Is Bernardo Silva the most underrated player in the world? Join the debate in the comments section.
5. We will meet again, eventually
As always, the Champions League round of 16 runs so long that the home and away matches are played three weeks apart. City’s incredible home record in Europe will be put to the test on March 6, a much easier task after Foden’s late goal.
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