Reigning champions Manchester City booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals after a routine 6-2 aggregate victory over FC Copenhagen. The result extends the Cityzens’ unbeaten home record in Europe to a remarkable 30 matches (28 wins, two draws).Armed with a two-goal advantage from the first leg in Denmark, Pep Guardiola’s side wasted little time in strengthening their grip on the tie with two goals inside the opening 10 minutes. First, Manuel Akanji found a yard of space inside the box to expertly volley home from Julián Álvarez’s corner, before the Argentine doubled City’s lead four minutes later with a powerful long-range effort that squirmed through the grasp of Kamil Grabara.The hosts continued to dominate proceedings after their quickfire double, but it was Jacob Neestrup’s men who pulled a goal back against the run of play shortly before the half-hour mark. Mohamed Elyounoussi showed impressive speed to break into the City box, and the Norwegian played a superb one-two with Orri Óskarsson before finishing confidently into the bottom corner. Undeterred, the Cityzens restored their four-goal aggregate lead on the stroke of halftime, with Erling Haaland rifling home after a pinpoint ball over the top from Rodri.That goal all but ended Copenhagen’s hopes of an unlikely comeback, and Guardiola’s men unsurprisingly dominated the early stages of the second half. Nevertheless, the visitors refused to go down without a fight, as substitute Magnus Mattsson saw a strike deflected wide and Elyounoussi blasted wastefully over the bar from the edge of the box.With City using the closing stages as an opportunity to rest several of their key players, the contest ultimately fizzled out, extending the hosts’ unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 matches ahead of a crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday. Copenhagen, meanwhile, remain winless on all eight of their trips to England (two draws, six losses).30 – Manchester City have won 28 of their last 30 home games in the UEFA Champions League (D2), including their last 12 in a row. They are the second side to go 30+ consecutive home matches without defeat in the competition, after Barcelona (38, Sep 2013 to Nov 2020). Dominant. pic.twitter.com/fF5ionJmg9— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 6, 2024 Elsewhere, Vinícius Júnior’s clinical strike helped Real Madrid earn a hard-fought draw against Leipzig and seal a narrow aggregate victory in their last-16 contest, with Los Blancos unconvincingly stretching their unbeaten streak to 10 matches in all competitions.Hoping to bounce back after Jude Bellingham’s phantom winner and subsequent red card in La Liga last time out, Real notched an early chance when Vinícius swung a shoulder at Aurélien Tchouaméni’s deep cross and looped his effort onto the roof of the net. The sea of white shirts packed into the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu weren’t to know that Carlo Ancelotti’s side wouldn’t get another look-in before the interval, as the hosts suffered for their lack of a natural striker.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The same couldn’t be said for Leipzig, whose dangerman Loïs Openda was heavily involved from the word go. The Belgian fluffed his lines with his right foot from the edge of the box inside a quarter of an hour, and then with his left minutes later after being brilliantly played in by Dani Olmo. But it was very nearly third time lucky when Openda popped up at the back post with a chest and half-volley, which ruffled the side-netting and sparked frustrated whistles from the Madridistas.Real Madrid’s perfect start to their 2023/24 Champions League campaign ends after eight games.WWWWWWWDBut they did enough to go through… just. 😬#UCL | @bet365 | #Ad pic.twitter.com/tm8ZYEYgxo— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) March 6, 2024 The home side’s halftime change came as no surprise, with Rodrygo coming on to replace Eduardo Camavinga, and the Brazilian’s pace almost got the better of Leipzig as Péter Gulácsi was forced to tip his deflected near-post effort wide. The opener came just two minutes later as supporters finally witnessed the combination they had been waiting for all evening. Vinícius’ darting run saw him slid in by Bellingham, and an eye-catching finish put Real firmly in control.Only for a matter of moments, however, as Willi Orbán’s fantastic header set up a nervy last 25 minutes, which culminated in Olmo agonisingly striking the crossbar at the death. Leipzig are the first team to stop Los Blancos winning in Europe this season, but that will provide minimal consolation for manager Marco Rose as he turns his attention back towards the Bundesliga.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE1/8 finals – second legTuesdayBayern – Lazio 3-0 (2-0)/Kane 38, 66, Muller 45+2/Bayern win 3-1 on aggregateReal Sociedad – Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 (0-1)/Merino 89 – Mbappe 15, 56/Paris Saint-Germain win 4-1 on aggregateWednesdayReal Madrid – RB Leipzig 1-1 (0-0)/Vinicius 65 – Orban 68/Real Madrid win 2-1 on aggregateMan.City – Copenhagen 3-1 (2-1)/Akanji 5, Alvarez 9, Haaland 45+3 – Elyounoussi 29/Manchester City win 6-2 on aggregateTuesday the 12th23:00: (1.77) Barcelona (3.60) Napoli (4.80) /first leg 1-1/23:00: (1.28) Arsenal (5.70) Porto (10.5) /first leg 0-1/Wednesday the 13th23:00: (3.05) Atl.Madrid (3.30) Inter (2.55) /first leg 0-1/23:00: (2.15) Dortmund (3.50) PSV (3.30) / first leg 1-1/***odds are subject to change***
