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Champions League: Manchester City into the semi-finals

Manchester City ease into the Champions League semi-finals. |PHOTO: ESPN|
  • Manchester City drew with Bayern Munich to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
  • Erling Haaland scored for City before Kimmich levelled it from the penalty spot.

Manchester City overcame Bayern Munich, the defending Bundesliga champions, 4-1 on aggregate on the road to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.

The Citizens, who won the first game 3-0 in Manchester last week, had a significant edge going into the second leg of the quarterfinal on Wednesday at the Allianz Arena.

Erling Braut Haaland scored a penalty kick in the 57th minute of the game to make up for a missed penalty earlier in the game, giving Pep Guardiola’s team a chance to win in Munich. However, Joshua Kimmich scored a late penalty shot to tie the game.

Manchester City’s poor start

Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman both looked threatening in the wide areas as Bayern began the match on the front foot, as was expected.

In the eighth minute, Coman nearly assisted the returning Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with a cross, but there was simply too much force in the French international’s delivery.

Sane’s attempt to find the bottom corner of the net in the 17th minute, Bayern’s first real chance of the game, was just wide of the far post. Man City, who had started slowly, were being issued warnings at the Allianz Arena.

It was a remarkable incident in the 18th minute when Dayot Upamecano was sent off for a last-man tackle on Haaland, but the offside flag was subsequently lifted, much to the relief of the Frenchman who had clipped the Man City forward.

Thomas Tuchel received a booking as a result of the incident. Ederson then pulled off a stunning save to save a Sane free kick in the 21st minute, and Leon Goretzka missed the crossbar three minutes later.

In the 36th minute, Upamecano was penalized for a handball on a shot from Ilkay Gundogan, and the visitors were given a penalty. Haaland stepped up, but his shot flew over the crossbar lifting Bayern’s supporters.

Haaland missed from the penalty spot

Haaland missed from the penalty spot. |PHOTO: Manchester Evening News|

Following Coman’s thunderous drive, which Ederson stopped, Kimmich shot over the crossbar from a dangerous position, and Coman later caused more mayhem with a wonderful move, but Man City held off chances from Jamal Musiala and Sane in quick succession.

The second half

In the 55th minute, Haaland had a chance to atone for his missed penalty when he broke into the Bayern area, but Yann Sommer easily stopped the striker’s shot.

Then, Ederson produced a deft stop to deny Coman before Man City scored at the other end. Kevin De Bruyne fed Haaland, who took advantage of a mistake by Upamecano before slamming the ball past Sommer to give the English champions a 4-0 advantage overall.

After Ederson stopped a low shot from Choupo-Moting in the 67th minute, Mathys Tel scored in the 75th minute, but the crowd’s jubilation was cut short by the offside flag.

In the 82nd minute, Manuel Akanji has penalized for handling a cross from Sadio Mane, and the referee decided to award Bayern their own penalty after review.

Kimmich managed to salvage a draw for Bayern Munich. |PHOTO: Sky Sports|

A glimmer of hope was given to the home squad as Kimmich came up to score for the home team, shooting straight down the centre.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with the English champions moving on to the semifinals thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win

 

I am an ardent sports enthusiast interested in writing about football, motorsport and athletics.

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