COPENHAGEN, Denmark – It is possible to have good moments against Manchester City. They can even be defeated in 90 minutes, as Wolves, Arsenal and Aston Villa have already shown this season. But beating Pep Guardiola's team in two games (one of them at the Etihad Stadium, where they have not lost for more than a year) is something else.
City have only lost one two-legged UEFA Champions League tie in almost five years, and even that required something of a miracle from Real Madrid when they scored twice in stoppage time at the Bernabéu in 2022. The question arises: who can stop him? Will the reigning European champions reach a third Champions League final in four years?
FC Copenhagen had their moments in the first leg of their round of 16 tie in Parken on Tuesday, but were outplayed for much of the match and fell, as most expected, 3-1. The score probably should have been even more comfortable.
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Despite beating Manchester United and drawing with Bayern Munich in the group stage, the Danish champions, who were playing their first competitive game in two months, were barely able to lay a glove on their visitors and faced an almost impossible task in the Etihad in three weeks. Real Madrid, with Jude Bellingham, and Bayern, with Harry Kane, would like to have a chance of going head to head if subsequent draws bring games against City, but the reigning champions are favorites to win the competition again by a good margin. 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. Today we made perfect concepts. My job is to warn the players about the attributes they have.
“We behaved with character, personality and patience. Everyone was at the highest level. It is not decisive but it is a good result. Hopefully we can reach the quarterfinals.”
FC Copenhagen tried everything to derail City. On a freezing night in Denmark, home fans packed the stadium more than an hour before kick-off and made as much noise as they could as Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and John Stones found themselves at the end of some tough early 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 good. I'm very proud. It was important. Today was perfect.”
City have not been eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 since losing to Monaco in 2017 and everything indicates that this streak will be extended once Copenhagen visits the Etihad. Guardiola, however, will have his sights set much higher and, given his record in knockouts, would not bet against another final appearance at Wembley in June.
The question facing the rest of Europe is: who can stop them?
