Manchester City cruise past Copenhagen and into Champions League quarter-finals

Manchester City were unsurprisingly comfortable in a 3-1 victory over Copenhagen on Wednesday, copying the result from the first-leg in Denmark.

The Blues, who are pushing for a second successive treble, made use of their vast advantage over the Danish minnows, who were ultimately not up to the standard of the Champions League knockout stage.

Whether this raises questions about the expansion of the tournament’s group phase to feature more teams is another debate, however the Abu Dhabi-funded English champions will be right at the top of whichever tournament they enter.

Pep rotated his squad after Manchester Derby victory

Pep Guardiola made seven changes to the starting XI which defeated Manchester United 3-1 on Sunday afternoon, although Erling Haaland retained his place, perhaps with the Spanish coach hoping he works through any crisis of confidence after an abysmal miss from one-yard out at the weekend.

It took just five minutes for Manchester City to open the scoring, albeit through an unlikely source.

Manuel Akanji found the net with a stunning volley after a cross from Julian Alvarez. The ball rocketed off his boot and into the roof of the net.

Rodri then missed a chance to double City’s lead, sending a glancing header beyond the goalkeeper but onto the crossbar.

Kamil Grabara earned plaudits for his performances against Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the group phase, but the goalkeeper was at fault for City’s second goal.

Julian Alvarez took a shot from distance that Grabara struggled to get to grips with and the ball squirmed under his body and into the net.

The tie, if it wasn’t in Denmark, was now over, and the Blues turned on their stereotypical game-management.

However, taking their foot off the gas did cause problems on the half-hour mark as Orri Oskarsson played a simple square pass towards Mohamed Elyounoussi, who was composed and he placed a shot into the bottom corner.

Haaland had a chance to redeem himself after his blunder at the weekend, finding himself on the end of a Rodri cross in injury-time of the first-half.

However, the sensational Norwegian was clinical as he finished the chance with his usual conviction.

The second-half was a quiet affair with the job already done by the tournament holders, and they will now look towards who will have the unenviable task of facing them in the quarter-final.