Man City’s seven straight quarterfinals equals feats by Bayern and Manchester United
MANCHESTER, March 7: Manchester City continued its pursuit of back-to-back Champions League titles by advancing to the quarterfinals of European club football’s elite competition with a 3-1 win over Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland at Etihad Stadium saw City complete a 6-2 aggregate win.
It is the seventh straight season Pep Guardiola’s team has advanced to the quarterfinals and this latest victory extended an unbeaten home run in the Champions League that stretches back 30 games to 2018.
Potential clashes with some of the giants of Europe lie in wait with Madrid, Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain also into the next stage.
But few teams would relish the prospect of meeting the defending champions, who remain in contention to become only the second team after Madrid to retain the trophy in its modern guise. Even Guardiola’s Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona team could not achieve that feat. Should City lift the trophy again, Guardiola would equal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti’s record haul of four Champions League titles.
There is still a long way to go this season, but City’s form is ominous after extending its unbeaten run in all competitions to 20 games.
City’s seven straight quarterfinals equals feats by Bayern and Manchester United.
A repeat of last season’s treble is also still on for City, with the defending champions a point behind first-placed Liverpool in the Premier League and into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. City face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
REAL THROUGH
A tough day for Carlo Ancelotti ended on a good note as Real Madrid advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the fourth straight season despite a lackluster performance against Leipzig on Wednesday.
After being accused of tax fraud by Spanish tax authorities during the day, Ancelotti saw Madrid struggle in a 1-1 draw with Leipzig that was just enough to put the European powerhouse into the last eight thanks to the 1-0 win from the first leg in Germany three weeks ago.
Madrid was outplayed during parts of the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, drawing some jeers by the home crowd, but held on to advance 2-1 on aggregate.
Earlier, prosecutors in Madrid accused Ancelotti of defrauding Spanish tax authorities of 1 million euros in 2014 and 2015 during his first stint with the club. Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of four years and nine months for the Italian coach, claiming he used a shell company to hide parts of his income from image rights.
Ancelotti addressed the accusations after the match and denied wrongdoing.
The hosts finally broke the deadlock with Vinícius Júnior scoring from inside the area after a pass by Bellingham following a breakaway. The Brazil forward celebrated by sitting on
But Leipzig kept pressing and equalized three minutes later with a header by Orbán after a well-placed cross by David Raum.
Leipzig wanted a red card for Vinícius Júnior after he shoved an opponent early in the second half, but the referee showed him a yellow.
The Brazil forward then exchanged words with Rose near the sideline. (AP)