Man City reaches quarters
Copenhagen crushed, while Real Madrid advances after draw with Leipzig
Manchester City continued its pursuit of back-to-back Champions League titles by advancing to the quarterfinals of European club soccer’s elite competition with a 3-1 win over Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland at Etihad Stadium allowed City to 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 European soccer lie in wait with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain also into the next stage. Madrid advanced despite a lacklustre performance at home, a 1-1 draw with Leipzig that was just enough to secure a 2-1 aggregate win.
Even Guardiola’s Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona team could not match City’s recent run. Should the club 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.
“Now we are a process where we can lose, definitely, but we can compete everywhere because we come from the final (2021), semifinal (2022), final (2023) and now the quarterfinals again,” Guardiola said.
“Of course we respect incredibly the opponents, but we have the feeling the opponents see Man City and say, ‘OK it will be a big battle, too.’ ”
City’s seven straight quarterfinals equals feats by Bayern and Manchester United.
Barcelona advanced to the last eight a record13 times in succession between 2008 and 2020, while Madrid’s best run was eight between 2011 and 2018.