Copenhagen proved to be a difficult one to break, but the superiority of Manchester City was finally reflected in the score (1-3) and left the round of 16 practically decided unless there was a disaster at the Etihad.
The draw indicated that the ‘sky blue’ team had received ‘Cinderella’, but Pep Guardiola warned that this was not the case. The Danish team showed their high level of competition in the group stage, leaving Manchester United and Galatasaray, and they made it clear again against City, that they cannot win more because they are overmatched, quite the opposite. .
The game had a tricky start. De Bruyne, in his first game of the Champions League season, put his team ahead after receiving a good pass in space from Foden and crossing the ball to the opposite post (10′). A devastating start, accompanied by a City who played too fast with the ball but found a Copenhagen team perfectly prepared and highly motivated to ease their rival’s game.
The first thing that was clear to Jacob Neestrup was that he had to handcuff Erling Haaland, who was barely allowed to breathe throughout the rivalry. However, and with Jack Grealish’s injury setback, replaced by Doku, City were the clear heroes of the match and only the post, with a Vavro deflection, prevented them from increasing the lead.
The situation indicated that at any moment the Danish resistance would give way, but it was driven by a mistake by Ederson, who sometimes makes mistakes. The Brazilian had an easy pass but he didn’t have the precision the game demanded, giving it to Elyounoussi and finishing it to Mattsson, who made a huge shot to equalize (34′).
From Cinderella’s fable to the movie ‘Cinderella Man’, Copenaghe began to believe it and followed Neestrup’s plan, developing quick and numerous counterattacks, but Ederson was not worried because of the good retreat of his men Guardiola. before the break, and after a lucky rebound, they again took advantage of a precise touch from Bernardo Silva (45′).
Beyond the first few minutes where Copenhagen looked to turn the game around, aware that their options were to try to equalize early on, the second half was completely dominated by Manchester City and, in particular, some superb De Bruyne and Rodri. But the team is missing something: Haaland. Merit goes to Vavro and McKenna, who played a match not to be forgotten against the Norwegian. He still has two. The first was a header, which hit the crossbar, and the second, already in stoppage time, with a save from Grabara in a one-on-one situation.
The city fought to kill the bond despite these conditions. He is on the verge of not achieving it mainly due to the good role of the goalkeeper, who is on par with his team-mates and provides two particularly good hands in De Bruyne and Doku.
But when someone knocks on the door, they will eventually open it. And it was again in the half with a goal from De Bruyne, who played back smartly in one of the last plays to leave the shot to Phil Foden (93′) and leave the tie almost resolved against a worthy Copenhagen.
match lineup
1
19
2
33
3
26
9
8
7
10
30
31
2
6
twenty
5
3
47
16
9
17
10
Park
Ederson31
Kyle Walker2
73′
Nathan Ake6
70′
Bernard Silvatwenty
44′
77′
John Stones5
Ruben Dias3
69′
Phil Foden47
91′
33′
80′
Rodri16
54′
Erling Haaland9
Kevin De Bruyne17
9′
80′
Jack Grealish10
twenty
Replacements
Stephen Ortega18
Scott Carson33
80′
Manuel Akanji25
Rico Lewis82
Matheus Nunes27
77′
Oscar Bob52
69′
Jacob Wright56
Mahamadou Susoho76
Jeremy DokuEleven
twenty
80′
Julian Alvarez19
54′
coach
Jacob Neestrup
Pep Guardiola
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
