Kevin De Bruyne’s goal and two assists propelled Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over Copenhagen in their Champions League last 16 first leg, sealing the Sky Blues’ 11th win in a row across all competitions and extending their 21-match unbeaten streak in Europe.Signs of ring rust were to be expected from Copenhagen, who were thrown in at the deep end after a two-month winter break from competitive action, and City sought to capitalise through a barrage of early opportunities. Nathan Aké should have put the visitors in front with a volleyed rebound from point-blank range, before Kevin De Bruyne avenged his team-mate’s miss by latching onto Phil Foden’s reverse pass and nestling a composed finish into the far corner.It was shaping up to be a case of how many for City until an injury to the unfortunate Jack Grealish, on his first start for over a month, marked a turning point for the hosts. A rare mistake from Ederson created the equaliser, but there was still plenty to do for debutant Magnus Mattsson on the edge of the box as he confidently stroked his effort into the top corner.The pendulum swing proved to be temporary, however, as City benefitted from their own moment of good fortune just before the break, with a tackle ricocheting into the path of Bernardo, whose dinked finish was as deft as fans have come to expect of the magical Portuguese.For all of their possession, City’s clear-cut chances were limited by the Danes’ resolute defensive unit, as long-range shots from De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku were both dealt with by Kamil Grabara. There was no need for either side to go for broke, with a second leg still to come, but the Sky Blues earned a valuable two-goal cushion at the death when Foden turned in De Bruyne’s cutback to leave Copenhagen deflated.City did what they came to do at Parken Stadium on their quest to reach at least the Champions League quarter-finals for a seventh successive campaign. Copenhagen, meanwhile, will be up against it when they bid to make the last eight for the first time ever at the Etihad Stadium in three weeks.Meanwhile, a magnificent strike from Brahim Díaz earned Real Madrid victory over RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, improving their imperious recent record against German opposition to just one defeat from the last 14 such matches.In a goalless first half, the hosts did have the ball in the back of the net after less than two minutes, only to see the strike controversially ruled out. The whistle blew after Benjamin Šeško turned Xaver Schlager’s effort past Andriy Lunin, and while the initial suspicion was that the Slovenian was offside, the decision may well have been made because of a nudge from Benjamin Henrichs on Los Blancos’ goalkeeper.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Carlo Ancelotti’s side were missing the talismanic Jude Bellingham after picking up an ankle injury in the weekend win over Girona, and they struggled creatively without him. Henrichs, who had already denied his own side a goal, returned the favour at the other end as he cleared Aurélien Tchouaméni’s header off his own line just before the 10-minute mark. The Red Bulls were the better side however, and Šeško himself could’ve netted a hat-trick before the quarter-hour mark as, after his disallowed effort, he was played in by Xavi Simons and then Dani Olmo only to be denied by Lunin on both occasions.Marco Rose’s men were the far-more dangerous outfit before the break, but their wastefulness came back to haunt them soon after the restart. Brahim Díaz was the man drafted in to replace Bellingham, but he had no issue shouldering that responsibility as he broke the deadlock with a stunning solo effort, picking the ball up on the right and slaloming his way through no fewer than four Leipzig defenders before curling a left-footed effort past Péter Gulácsi from the edge of the box.The Spaniard’s strike was proving a sole piece of magic in an otherwise attritional contest. Los Blancos did break rapidly beyond the hour-mark, but just as Rodrygo was about to pull the trigger, Schlager came to the rescue with a perfectly-timed sliding challenge. The visitors continued to push for a second goal, and were a post’s width away from doing so as Díaz turned provider for Vinícius Junior, but the Brazilian’s effort rolled agonisingly against the foot of the upright.The hosts pushed for a late leveller to even the tie, but found Lunin in inspired form. He denied Šeško yet again from a narrow angle before producing a flying stop from Amadou Haidara’s dipping volley to ensure the La Liga table-toppers take a narrow lead back to the Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE1/8 finalsTuesday the 13thCopenhagen – Man.City 1-3 (1-2)/Mattsson 34 – De Bruyne 10, Silva 45+1, Foden 90+3/RB Leipzig – Real Madrid 0-1 (0-0)/Diaz 49/Wednesday the 14th23:00: (1.68) PSG (3.70) Sociedad (5.40)23:00: (6.25) Lazio (4.10) Bayern (1.55)Tuesday the 20th23:00: (2.00) Inter (3.40) Atl.Madrid (3.90)23:00: (2.15) PSV (3.45) Dortmund (3.35)Wednesday the 21st23:00: (4.10) Porto (3.50) Arsenal (1.90)23:00: (2.70) Napoli (3.35) Barcelona (2.60)***odds are subject to change***
