12′
9:15 p.m
The guests’ match plan is gone after less than ten minutes of play. Jacob Neestrup’s team can now only hope that City don’t take things too seriously.
9′
9:11 p.m
Great for Manchester City, 2-0 by Julián Álvarez
Álvarez is probably already making the preliminary decision here – with active support from Grubara! Corner number two sails from the left side into the guests’ box. At the second post, Rodri comes to the header completely unchallenged, but only hits the crossbar from close range. Afterwards, the guests’ back team did not get the situation clarified properly. The ball falls again at Álvarez’s feet to the left of the penalty area. The Argentine shoots with his right – the shot is actually relatively central, but slips through the keeper’s arms. A big buck to make it 2-0!
8th’
9:09 p.m
The Cityzens’ first shot on goal led directly to the lead. The already difficult task has probably become even harder. To still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, Copenhagen would need three goals.
5′
9:06 p.m
Great for Manchester City, 1-0 by Manuel Akanji
The dream start for the home team! Julián Álvarez hits the first corner of the game from the right side to the near post. Kevin Diks jumps under the ball so that Manuel Akanji finishes right behind him. The Swiss reacts quickly and welds the ball straight out of the air into the top right corner with his inside right side – Kamil Grabara in the Danes’ box has no chance. Things couldn’t get off to a better start for the hosts.
3′
9:03 p.m
The Danes refrain from pressing high in the opening minutes and attack the home team in the first half of their own half. Coach Jacob Neestrup apparently relies on a somewhat more cautious approach in order not to run straight into the open knife. The respect for the opponent is understandably great.
1′
9:01 p.m
The ball is rolling! The spectators at the Etihad are looking forward to the game between Manchester City and FC Copenhagen.
8:50 p.m
Today’s game will be led by a Norwegian team of referees. Main referee Espen Eskås will be assisted on the sidelines by Isaak Bashevkin and Anders Dale.
8:40 p.m
The roles are of course clearly assigned in this round of 16 second leg. The home side go into the game as heavy favorites and have all the trump cards in their hands due to the first leg result. Given the current form of the Skyblues, who are unbeaten in all competitions for 19 games, the reigning Danish champions almost need a miracle to be able to make it to the quarter-finals here. Judging by the line-up, coach Jacob Neestrup doesn’t want to risk too much defeat here. In connection with this, there are certainly the points for the UEFA coefficient, which will be relevant in the new Champions League mode from next season.
8:30 p.m
Today, the guests from Denmark are relatively surprisingly playing in a somewhat more defensive 5-3-2 system. Coach Jacob Neestrup also has to complain about some injury concerns: with Lerager, Diogo Gonçalves, Falk and Claesson, the reigning Danish champions are missing four key players. Mattsson, the goalscorer in the first leg, is also not on the pitch from the start today. With Clem, Óskarsson, Jelert, Froholdt and Ankersen, five new players are joining today’s starting eleven. The alignment should initially ensure defensive stability before the deficit from the first leg can be addressed. But this much is certain: if we want to reach the quarter-finals today, we will need a magical night at the Etihad Stadium.
8:20 p.m
The hosts are expected to play in a 4-2-3-1 system today. However, there is a lot of rotation compared to the first leg three weeks ago. With Gvardiol, Bobb, Kovačić, Akanji, Lewis, Álvarez and Matheus Nunes, seven new outfield players are joining Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up. Some of the top performers of the last few weeks, such as Foden, Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne, will initially have to make do with a place on the bench. The City coach is obviously already thinking about the game against Liverpool next Sunday, which will set the tone for the league title fight. Can the Skyblues’ “B-Elf” fix it today?
8:10 p.m
The mission to defend the title is entering the next round. Manchester City come into today’s game with a comfortable 3-1 lead from the first leg – the foundation stone for reaching the last eight was successfully laid in Copenhagen three weeks ago. Nevertheless, it is important to keep the tension high today. After all, the guest from Copenhagen was already able to defeat their city rivals Skyblues and also caused a lot of problems for Bayern. However, Jacob Neestrup’s team undoubtedly faces a Herculean task today. City has shone in this Champions League season with a flawless record so far and has won every single game so far – apart from Real Madrid, no team has managed this in the current competition.
Welcome to the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16! At 21, Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen at home at the Etihad Stadium.