Manchester City

UCL Roundup: Arsenal, Liverpool Advance; City, Spurs Among Big Exits

Arsenal and Liverpool both progress into the next round of the UEFA Champions League with Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham’s European Campaign’s all coming to an end.  Here is a round-up from the Round of 16 fixtures involving the six Premier League sides: Chelsea 0-3 PSG (PSG win 8-2 on aggregate) Following a tough night in the French capital last week, it didn’t get any better in London. Chelsea did have a few good chances but were no where near clinical enough – exact opposite of PSG as they were excellent in front of goal seeing off Chelsea with three goals. Chelsea started on the wrong foot as Kvaratskhelia fired PSG ahead followed by a Barcola strike eight minutes later. Mayulu sealed the win if it wasn’t already done to keep the holders in the competition as the Premier League side exit. Manchester City 1-2 Real Madrid (Real Madrid win 5-1 on aggregate) The first leg was far from expected as Valverde’s first half hat trick gave the Madrid side a valuable lead going into the leg in Manchester. Pep’s side got off to the worst start possible which saw Bernardo Silva shown red which gave the visitors a penalty after 22 minutes where Vinicius Junior dispatched to put Real Madrid further ahead. City pulled one back before the break through Haaland but was still going to be an uphill battle. City continued to huff and puff but couldn’t find another as in the dying minutes, Vinicius Junior grabbed his second to dump Man City out of the competition. Arsenal 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen (Arsenal win 3-1 on aggregate) Arsenal got the job done on home soil after a 1-1 draw in Germany last week. The Gunners were dominant for majority of the game which paid off after 36 minutes as Eze with an outstanding strike from distance right into the back of the net gave Arteta’s side a deserved lead going into the break. Arsenal were in need of a second to see off any worries where Declan Rice made no mistake and doubled the advantage on the night to see Arsenal through following a deserved victory in North London. Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (Liverpool win 4-1 on aggregate) It was a disappointing night in Turkey in the first leg as Liverpool fell short as the Turkish side ran away 1-0 winners but the second leg was total opposite. Liverpool started brightly where Dominic Szoboszlai had Arne Slott’s men level on aggregate after 25 minutes. Ekitike put the hosts in front six minutes into the second period and just two minutes on they had a third as Gravenberch handed Liverpool the advantage going into the latter stages. Salah had then got in on the act with a strike just after the hour mark sure no upset was on the cards and Liverpool continue. Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (Barcelona win 8-3 on aggregate) Following a 1-1 draw in Newcastle last week, the game began as a very exciting contest. Raphinha put Barca ahead very early on but Elanga had the Premier League side back on level terms nine minutes on. Just a few minutes later, Barcelona were ahead once again, this time through Bernal who smashed the ball home in a exciting start. 10 minutes on, Elanga netted the fourth goal of the half to draw Newcastle level once again but Barca were given a late first-half penalty following a push from Trippier where wonderkid Yamal netted into the bottom right-hand corner. It continued to go down hill as the La Liga side went onto score another 4 with Lopez on target, Raphinha scoring his second as well as Robert Lewandowski grabbing a brace to end the Newcastle dreams in style. Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Atletico Madrid win 7-5 on aggregate) The first leg was a complete horror show as three costly errors saw Atletico go ahead by three goals within 15 minutes which saw Kinsky get subbed off after just 17 minutes which saw Tottenham go on to lose 5-2 in the Spanish capital. However, it was a much improved performance in North London but just wasn’t enough to go through. Kolo Muani had Spurs’ ahead after half-an-hour where Spurs were ahead at half-time. Atletico responded right away as former Manchester City man Jullian Alvarez equalised for the visitors. Xavi Simons regained the lead for Tottenham but Hancko cancelled out the goal on 75 minutes as Atletico refused to let Tottenham have any chance of getting back into the match. Tottenham won it late on through a Simons penalty but just wasn’t enough to win the game over both legs as Igor Tudor’s men crash out. UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Draw: PSG v Liverpool Real Madrid v Bayern Munich Barcelona v Atletico Madrid Sporting CP v Arsenal    

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Real Madrid v Manchester City- Match Preview

Another enthralling tie in this seasons Champions League sees 15-time winners Real Madrid take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Around this time last year, it was the Kylian Mbappe show, as the Los Blancos’ knocked Manchester City out in fine fashion, resulting in a 6-3 aggregate score. However, these teams have already met this season at the Bernabeu, and it was payback from Manchester City, as they took all three points back to Manchester. For City, it was a win last weekend away in the FA Cup to a difficult venue in St James Park.Guardiola’s side are also unbeaten in 11 competitive matches in all competitions. As for Madrid, it was a last-minute winner away to Celta Vigo to keep their La Liga title hopes alive. Player to watch: Antoine Semenyo He has hit the ground running in Manchester since being signed in January, and with seven goals already for The Citezens, he will be looking to get off to a dream start if he is to make his Champions League debut this evening in Madrid. Player to watch: Vinicius Junior With eight goal contributions in the Champions League so far, the Brazilian was a key factor to Madrid’s progress in the last round against Benfica. And if Madrid are going to progress further in this competition, Alvaro Arbeloa may have to rely on a moment of magic from the very talented winger. On regards to the fixture, Guardiola said: “When we are here, we have to prove ourselves, for my experience arriving in Champions League, semi-finals, finals, if you are not who you are it is more difficult. “We arrive better because we have the squad. Last season we arrive with a lot of fatigue.” Arbeloa on the importance of Vini Jr, he said: “For us, regardless of who is on the field, as long as he is there, he’s going to be very important. “We have key players missing who are fundamental to our team, some of the best in the world, who have earned their place through performance. Vini is taking on a lot of responsibility and is our offensive cornerstone. We need the best from him if we want to eliminate Manchester City.”

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Man City 2-1 Newcastle: academy graduate provides spark for title chasers

Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United N. O’Reilly (14′ , 27′)              L. Hall (22′) Man City closed the gap to two points on league leaders Arsenal after a tightly contested victory over Newcastle at the Etihad. Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly was the hero for Pep Guardiola, delivering two goals in a pulsating first half. He opened the scoring after collecting Omar Marmoush’s pass on the edge of the box in the 14th minute. The 20-year-old’s first-time finish was too accurate for Nick Pope, lasering into the bottom-left corner, to give City a crucial lead. Newcastle, fresh from a commanding 6-1 Champions League victory in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, hit back eight minutes later, delivering another twist in the title race. Lewis Hall’s deflected left-footed strike wrong-footed Gianluigi Donnarumma to the delight of the visiting support. City hit back on the 27-minute mark, as their wonderkid struck his second of the game. Erling Haaland, so often the finisher, turned provider, with a chipped cross to the back post. O’Reilly showed composure to cushion his header across Pope and edge the Citizens back in front. The tense second half followed, but eventually delivered a precious three points. All eyes turn to North London on Sunday afternoon, as leaders Arsenal look to respond against Tottenham. Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias (Khunsanov 46′), Guehi, Nouri, Rodri, Semenyo (Foden 87′), Silva, O’Reilly, Haaland, Marmoush (Cherki 58′) Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Ramsey, Tonali, Willock (Barnes 60′), Elanga (Murphy 78′), Woltemade (Joelinton 60′), Gordon (Osula 78′)

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