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Manchester City made little work of Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals. They now have a date with destiny, forcing a repeat of last year’s semi-final Real Madrid. Los Blancos will not be easy to tame as they defeated Chelsea for the second time across two less.
FULL-TIME | Through to the #UCL semi-finals! 💪
🔴 1-1 🐝 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/970kaLSU8t
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 19, 2023
The English champions have not had luck in the Champions League. They were outdone by Carlo Ancelotti’s charges last season and have a tough task on their hands.
The dramatic extra-time defeat was enforced thanks to the sublime Karim Benzema, who was the Blues’ tormentor-in-chief alongside Brazilians Vinicius and Rodrygo. Taming Madrid’s attacking unit will not be an easy task but City are no ordinary team.
City Confident of Defeating Madrid
Bernardo Silva was at the height of his abilities, prowling across the pitch to make sure Bayern Munich always had something to worry about. The first leg saw him finish with a goal and assist to his name, while his productivity in Allianz Arena was not the same, he was a thorn in the Bavarians’ way.
Eager to replicate their efforts in the semi-final, Silva has his eyes on Real Madrid. They meet them at the Santiago Bernabeu in a fortnight and the Portuguese is confident City can get past Los Blancos to secure their place in the final.
“We will go for it definitely,’ Silva commented. “We always go for it but we feel the team is very, very confident at the minute. I think we are going through.
“We are at that point of the season where if you drop your performance in one game you are out of competition. It is going to be tough but we are going to work very hard to bring some titles home.”
Guardiola Pleased with Third Semi-Final
It was a roller coaster night for Pep Guardiola, who returned to Allianz Arena, his home for three years. In the bitter-sweet moments after the game, he was seen consoling Leroy Sane and then boasting about City’s feats.
This is definitely the moment where Leroy Sane confessed to Pep Guardiola that he made the biggest mistake of his life by leaving Manchester City. pic.twitter.com/ivBkxMQZWl
— Cellular® (@Cellular_jnr) April 20, 2023
Guardiola pointed at City’s third successive semi-final appearance. They have progressed to the finals once in this run and will hope to add to this tally.
The Catalan was pleased with their efforts and hailed them for executing their plans to the letter. Against Madrid, Guardiola wants more of the same but knows that such matches are decided on a coin flip.
“I’m so happy for three semi-finals in a row to be honest, the result doesn’t show the two games in full view,” Guardiola remarked. “They are so good, the physicality, the ideas.
“I’m always impressed when I play against them but this competition is always the details. We lived the opposite part of that last year against Madrid. Tonight we were incredibly solid, and defended really well. This is where we’ve improved the most.
“I don’t feel like we’re better than Bayern at all. Like I didn’t feel Real Madrid were better than us. These games are a coin.
“All of the clubs have the feeling that if they want to win this competition, they have to beat Real Madrid.”
In Erling Haaland, they now have a focal point to match the French ace. The Norwegian is scoring for fun in City’s colours and will be a
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