Real Madrid and Manchester City reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League

Two more quarter-finalists have been identified in the play-offs of the Champions League. Real Madrid drew 1:1 with RB Leipzig in the home match of the 1/8 finals, and made it to the next round thanks to an away victory 1:0. Manchester City calmly dealt with Copenhagen at home, repeating the result of the first meeting – 3:1.

In the return matches involving Real Madrid and Manchester City, no matter how hard you wanted, it was difficult to find intrigue. Copenhagen initially had no chance in the confrontation with the current Champions League winner, and after a 1:3 defeat at home, the light at the end of the Danish tunnel went out completely. Perhaps there was still some understatement in the Real-Leipzig pair, given that on the road the Madrid team did not look too convincing for one of the main favorites of the tournament, scoring the only goal thanks to Brahim Diaz’s solo performance.

Recently, the Spanish giants have not been spectacular in the national championship either, drawing twice and winning one minimal victory. On the other hand, the team’s top scorer Jude Bellingham returned to action after an ankle injury, and the center of defense became easier with the return of Antonio Rudiger. But Leipzig suffered two personnel losses compared to the first match: Mohamed Simakan dropped out due to disqualification, and Lukas Klosterman dropped out due to injury.

Leipzig had nothing to lose, and they started the match at the Santiago Bernabeu quite boldly, appearing near the opponent’s penalty area almost more often than the hosts. Benjamin Sheshko even managed to get one-on-one with Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrei Lunin. True, the Slovenian striker acted straightforwardly and did not take advantage of the chance, and then it turned out that he attacked from a delayed offside position. However, Lois Openda soon found himself twice in good position to finish, and Madrid were lucky that the Belgian lacked the composure to even hit the target.

Moreover, time passed, and the leader of the Spanish championship still practically did not threaten Peter Gulacsi’s goal. The same Bellingham was in the shadows. Vinicius Junior also ran for nothing. And Federico Valverde only made his mark by forcing Gulachi to fall after the ball, but this happened due to a rebound. At the end of the first half, the guests completely locked Real in their half of the field and finally brought the matter to a shot on target. Xavi Simons tried to hit the technique, but was unable to throw Lunin over. Well, then Openda missed again. For such football, Madrid fans escorted Carlo Ancelotti’s team to the locker room with disapproving noise and whistles.

However, it cannot be said that the break was beneficial for Real. Moreover, in the opening of the second half, Lunin almost scored, who recklessly rushed to intercept. Openda beat him, but did not dare to shoot at the empty goal, being at a very acute angle, he wanted to improve the situation, and the Ukrainian goalkeeper corrected his mistake by covering the ball at the feet of the striker. Gradually, the owners became more active. With Rodrigo coming on as a substitute, they played clearly more cheerfully and quite quickly caught Leipzig on a classic counterattack from their own penalty area. Toni Kroos launched Bellingham into the breakthrough, he dragged the ball across the entire field and gave it to Vinicius, who powerfully loaded in one touch with no chance for Gulacsi.

But the guests unexpectedly reacted boldly to the missed goal. And if Rüdiger saved Real by blocking Simons’ shot, then no one stopped Willy Orban from scoring with a header from David Raum’s flank pass. So, on the sum of two matches, Madrid’s advantage again shrank to just one goal, and Leipzig believed in itself. The “Bulls” attacked Lunin’s goal with even greater energy and really frayed the nerves of Ancelotti’s men. Already in stoppage time, Dani Olmo could have sent this confrontation into extra time, but he slightly miscalculated the trajectory, throwing it over the goalkeeper, and hit the crossbar. A 1:1 draw brought Real to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, although there were again many questions about his performance.

Manchester City hosted Copenhagen immediately after the enchanting derby victory over United, which took place as part of the English Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s team have spent a lot of energy and emotion, and next weekend they will face the most important battle for the championship with Liverpool. Therefore, as expected, the City coach resorted to a serious rotation of the squad, hiding in reserve, in particular, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, who play the entire game in attack.

Nevertheless, by the ninth minute the Manchester team led 2:0. First, central defender Manuel Akanji volleyed home Julian Alvarez’s corner, and then the Argentine scored himself when Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara failed to hold the ball after being hit from the side from outside the penalty area. The visitors reduced the difference through the efforts of Mohamed Elyounoussi, who completed a beautiful combination with a late backheel pass from Orri Oscarsson. But before the break, Erling Haaland effortlessly dealt with two defenders in the penalty area and drove the ball into the net, restoring the hosts’ double advantage. But the second half turned out to be completely ineffective, so City again defeated the Danish club with a score of 3:1.

Alexander Ilyin