SPORTS

Manchester City’s Road to the Final Fight Against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League

When Manchester City takes on Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday, it will be the English team’s second Champions League final in three years.

Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, and FC Copenhagen are in the group stage.

Borussia Dortmund, a Sevilla squad that had a rough start to the season, and FC Copenhagen of Denmark were all in City’s relatively mild group. After winning its first three games — 4-0 at Sevilla, 2-1 at home against Dortmund, and 5-0 at home against Copenhagen — City cruised through it. A 0-0 tie in Denmark then gave City a two-game cushion to advance to the round of 16. The club did play for more than an hour with 10 men when Sergio Gomez was sent off, and Riyad Mahrez had a penalty saved, but it was the first time this season that City had failed to score in a game. At Dortmund, City ended with a 0-0 tie and defeated Sevilla 3-1 at home. Erling Haaland’s spectacular volley for the game-winning goal against his old team, Dortmund, was the highlight of the group stage for City.www.theindiaprint.com manchester citys road to the final fight against inter milan in the uefa champions league 100258545

Last 16 vs RB Leipzig

Haaland had his most productive game while wearing a City jersey in the second leg against Leipzig. The striker completed an 8-1 aggregate triumph with five goals scored before the hour mark in a 7-0 win. Only two players, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Luiz Adriano of Brazil, have ever scored five goals in a single Champions League match before. Given how the German club sometimes tormented City during their 1-1 draw in the first leg, when Mahrez scored the opening goal, it was Leipzig’s worst European defeat and a surprise. In the rematch, Leipzig was just too open, which gave City the advantage with goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne.

semifinal matchup vs Bayern Munich

As manager Pep Guardiola subsequently said, City’s 4-1 victory against Bayern Munich on the road wasn’t as convincing as the final score would indicate. Rodri’s left-foot curling shot from beyond the area opened the scoring for City in the first leg’s 3-0 triumph at Etihad Stadium. Goals from Bernardo Silva and Haaland then solidified City’s lead in the last 20 minutes. Early in the second leg, City was shaky, but they managed to hold on and eventually grab the lead via Haaland after a length-of-the-field counterattack orchestrated by De Bruyne. Joshua Kimmich scored a late consolation goal for Bayern from the penalty spot at that point after Haaland had previously missed a penalty attempt from the spot.

Real Madrid in the semifinals

City avenged its bitter semifinal defeat at the hands of Real Madrid last season by drawing 1-1 in the Spanish capital and then winning the second leg 4-0 at home, probably its greatest performance under Guardiola. Vinicius Junior’s similarly spectacular first goal at the Santiago Bernabeu was cancelled out by De Bruyne’s long-range equalizer in the second half, giving City the chance to defeat Madrid a week later. Silva scored twice in the first period of play, while Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez both added goals for City in the second half of play. Jack Grealish, a City winger, stated, “We feel unstoppable.”

 

 

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