El Manchester City castiga al Bayern
Manchester City took a giant step towards a place in the semi-finals of the 2022-2023 Champions League after an emphatic 3-0 win over German side Bayern Munich on Tuesday, who left the Etihad Stadium with a severe penalty that was difficult to overturn when they were giving their all at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola wins first battle
The first clash between two serious title contenders went to Pep Guardiola’s team, who certainly made fewer mistakes than Thomas Tuchel’s, whose errors, especially in the 2-0 win, cost them dearly. Before that key moment, Rodri Hernandez, in the first half, had made his Champions League debut with a sensational goal, and the German champions had come close to an equalizer in their reaction after the break.
Rain and wind
In harsh weather conditions, with rain and wind, City and Bayern opened the star quarter-final tie. Neither wanted to hold anything back and set a high tempo right from the start, especially the home side, who went all out in search of the first goal, but with more impetus than lucidity. However, the Bavarian team was able to withstand this start and waited for its moments to try to reach Ederson’s area, relying on the quality of its players up front, especially Leroy Sané, although it lacked a real reference in the absence of Choupo-Moting. Their opponents did have one with Haaland, but he did not strike too much fear in the first half.
Rodri struck first
Even so, the striker was the author of the first shot, too weak and centered for Sommer. More dangerous was the visitors’ first warning, a shot from the heart of the box by Musiala that met the saving foot of Rúben Dias when it seemed destined to be 0-1. And soon after, the English champions struck for the first time. Rodri, right-footed, unleashed a great left-footed shot from outside the area to beat Sommer and put his side ahead before the half-hour mark.
1-0 at halftime
Bayern were disappointed by the Spanish midfielder’s first Champions League goal. City, very generous in their offensive and defensive efforts, went one step further in search of a 2-0 lead, which Gündogan grazed after an erratic start by the Swiss goalkeeper, who made up for his mistake with a miraculous foot. The six-time European champions struggled, but were able to handle the final stretch well until the break, with a threatening shot from Sané.
Bayern tried to equalize
The German striker continued to pose a threat after the break, with three shots, especially the second, which required a good low hand from Ederson, who also stood firm in the other two. In between, the home side also came close after a hesitation by Upamecano led to chaos in their area, which Haaland also failed to capitalize on, his shot crashing into Kimmich. The Bundesliga champions were on the rise and Aké’s back-heel kept out a powerful header from De Ligt to prevent a possible 1-1 draw.
City woke up
Guardiola’s team woke up, despite the fact that they could no longer have possession so easily, now more of their rival, and threatened Sommer again, although they did it with two of their three center backs, Aké and Dias, who found the safety of the visiting goalkeeper, very accurate again against the Portuguese’s shot. The game began to open up and both coaches made changes with the introduction of Julian Alvarez, for an apparently ‘touched’ De Bruyne, and Sadio Mané, for a not very brilliant Musiala.
A mistake by Upamecano decided everything
However, what Tuchel was not counting on was another mistake by Upamecano. His loss near his area to Grealish and the latter’s back-heel to Haaland ended with the Norwegian’s cross for the dazzling entry at the far post of Bernardo Silva, whose header was unstoppable for Sommer. The Bundesliga champion was now ‘touched’ and at the mercy of the ‘citizens’. Julián Álvarez came close to making it 3-0, with another good action by the Swiss goalkeeper, but Haaland, with his best chance of the match, made no mistake. Stones headed an extension and the Norwegian, unmarked, shot and sentenced. Bayern could not find the goal of hope and Sommer still had time for another fine save to avoid a worse ending to the first European defeat of the year.
