City slickers bury Basel; Spurs rally to hold Juve
turin — Ilkay Gundogan says there is still more to come from Manchester City after their “perfect” 4-0 rout of Basel left them on the verge of the Champions League quarterfinals.
The runaway Premier League leaders destroyed Basel’s morale with a three-goal burst after just 23 minutes of the first leg last-16 mismatch. City’s first three goals came in a devastating nine-minute spell thanks to a header from Gundogan, a Bernardo Silva volley and a longrange Sergio Aguero strike.
It was Aguero’s 14th goal in 11 games in 2018. Meanwhile, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen pulled Tottenham back from the brink to hold Juventus 2-2 in Turin, spoiling what had looked set to be a Gonzalo Higuain one-man show in the Champions League last 16, first leg in Turin on Tuesday.
Higuain had put Juventus — finalists twice in the past three seasons — two goals up within the first nine minutes at the Allianz Stadium. The Argentine’s lightning strike after just 73 seconds was followed by a second from the spot to leave Mauricio Pochettino’s English side reeling. But the 30-year-old missed two further chances to hammer home Juventus’s domination in the first half, with his second penalty hitting the crossbar just before the break.
Kane pulled Spurs back into the game after 35 minutes, latching onto a Dele Alli pass to round a helpless Gianluigi Buffon who had advanced off his line, making no mistake in front of goal. It was 24-year-old Kane’s seventh goal in Europe’s top club competition this season and puts him level with Steven Gerrard for the most scored by an English player in a single Champions League campaign.
Gundogan added a fourth after the break and was only denied a hat-trick by the dogged determination of Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. The tie looks all but settled ahead of the return leg at the Etihad on March 7.
Gundogan says City can do better and he threw down the gauntlet to their Champions League rivals. “The result was maybe perfect, but there are still plenty of things to improve,” said Gundogan. The 27-year-old German singled out City’s playmaker Kevin de Bruyne for his part in his opening goal.
“I had the opponent on my back so it was not really easy to head it, but the timing was perfect and the ball was perfect from Kevin,” said Gundogan. Pep Guardiola’s City starved Basel of the ball, enjoying 69-per cent possession. “To win 4-0 away in the last 16 is an amazing result, we are almost in the quarterfinals, but I am not saying we are already there, out of respect for Basel,” said Guardiola. “We defended well and we were clinical — we had four chances and took them all. “If we get to the quarter-finals that is already better than last season and that is the first step for us.”
The Spaniard heaped praise on Gundogan and his midfield teammates, including David Silva who made a return off the bench after injury. “Ilkay is a guy with special quality, he is an amazing midfield player who has a sense for goal,” said Guardiola. “He was out for six or seven months last season and we missed him, he is an outstanding player who doesn’t feel the pressure.” —