Can anyone stop Manchester City in the Champions League?،
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — It is possible to have good moments against Manchester City. They can even be beaten in 90 minutes as Wolves, Arsenal and Aston Villa have already proven this season. But beating Pep Guardiola's side in two matches – including one at the Etihad Stadium, where they haven't lost in over a year – is something else.
City have lost just one UEFA Champions League round-of-16 home-and-away match in almost five years, and even that required something of a miracle from Real Madrid when they scored twice times in stoppage time at the Bernabeu in 2022. This begs the question: who can stop the reigning European champions from reaching a third Champions League final in four years?
FC Copenhagen had their high moments in their round of 16 first leg at Parken on Tuesday, but they were dominated for much of the match and were beaten, as most expected, 3-1. The score probably should have been even more comfortable.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga and more (US)
Despite beating Manchester United and drawing against Bayern Munich in the group stage, the Danish champions, playing their first competitive match in two months, were barely able to lay a glove on their visitors and face a task almost impossible at the Etihad in three weeks. Real Madrid, with Jude Bellingham, and Bayern, with Harry Kane, would fancy a clash if subsequent draws lead to games against City, but the current holders are favorites to win the competition again for good reason .
“I know how difficult it is,” Guardiola said afterwards. “People think it's easy, but ask United and Bayern. They are a really tough opponent. We came up with perfect concepts today. My job is to warn the players about the qualities they have.
“We showed character, personality and patience. Everyone was at the highest level. It's not decisive but it's a good result. I hope we can reach the quarter-finals.”
FC Copenhagen tried everything to derail City. On a freezing night in Denmark, home fans flocked to the stadium more than an hour before kick-off and made as much noise as they could while Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and John Stones were all at the end of some difficult first challenges.
“We knew [they would be physical,” said Guardiola, who saw Grealish and Bernardo Silva limp off with injuries. “We talked about it, they are so aggressive.” Still, City were able to get into their rhythm quickly.
Kevin De Bruyne, playing in his first Champions League game since last season’s final after five months out with injury, could have scored with a header after just three minutes. He eventually scored after 10 minutes, by which time Nathan Aké had poked a tap-in over the bar.
For the first 30 minutes, City had 80% possession and Copenhagen were only allowed back into the game after a horrible wayward pass from Ederson ended up with Magnus Mattsson, making his debut following a move from NEC, scoring from the edge of the penalty area to briefly make it 1-1. Bernardo put City back in front just before half-time and Foden added a third in stoppage time but the only surprise was that the result wasn’t more emphatic after Copenhagen conceded 27 shots and 13 on target. They have goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to thank for making sure the tie isn’t over already.
The one hope for Copenhagen is that the return game in Manchester on March 6 is sandwiched between Premier League fixtures against Manchester United and Liverpool and it’s possible Guardiola might rotate his squad. The hope for the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern is that City continue to show small spells of vulnerability, having kept just 11 clean sheets in their past 37 games in all competitions, but with players like De Bruyne — who scored one and made two against Copenhagen — they will always score. With three goals against Copenhagen, they became the first team in Champions League history to score at least three goals in seven consecutive games.
“We played really good,” Guardiola said. “The right tempo we should play. We managed the game. The first game in the last 16 is always so dangerous but the players behaved and performed really good.
“We’ll prepare for the [second game] knowing that we are not finished. It's one game at a time.
“It was really, really good. I'm so proud. It was important. Today was perfect.”
City have not been eliminated from the Champions League at the round of 16 since losing to Monaco in 2017 and all indications are that this run will be extended once Copenhagen visit the Etihad. Guardiola, however, will be aiming much higher, and given his record in the last 16, you wouldn't bet against another final appearance at Wembley in June.
The question for the rest of Europe is: who can stop them?
