Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 3-1 FC Copenhagen (UEFA Champions League Last-16 Second-Leg)

Manchester City booked their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League after a 3-1 victory on the night, giving them an aggregate score of 6-2 across the two legs against FC Copenhagen.

The treble winners continued their bid to retain all three trophies as they saw off the Danish Champions, replicating their first-leg scoreline when they defeated Copenhagen 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

The comfortable victory cemented their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season, with the draw set to take place a week on Friday.

Manchester City started the game predictably strong, taking an early lead through an unlikely source when Julian Alvarez’s out-swinging corner landed on the foot of Manuel Akanji, who rifled the ball into the net after five minutes.

A second City corner landed the away side in hot water once again, when Alvarez’s corner met the head of Rodri who rattled the bar, before a scuffed clearance landed at the feet of the Argentine, who powered his shot through the hands of the keeper to double the City lead.

The away side halved the deficit after a slick passing move. Mohamed Elyounoussi was teed up inside the penalty area, and cooly slotted the ball past Ederson to give the travelling fans something to cheer after 28 minutes.

On the brink of half-time, Erling Haaland restored the two-goal cushion for the blues. A trademark diagonal pass from Rodri set him up and the Norwegian simply did the rest with a clinical finish.

A second half that mellowed out from the first half of four goals was epitomised by a painful-looking finger injury sustained to Matheus Nunes. This was one of two significant second-half highlights, with Rico Lewis’ deflected effort hitting the bar being the other.

With that being said, here is how we rated the players’ performances following the 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen on Wednesday night!

Player Ratings

Ederson – 6.5

Rumour has it Manuel Akanji gave the Brazilian a maths problem to try and complete pre-match, just to give him something to do. Picked the ball out of his net in the first half and made a singular save in the second.

Rico Lewis – 7

Inverted and involved, Lewis did his chances no harm at cementing some more regular game time with his performance against Copenhagen.

Manuel Akanji – 8 (MOTM)

Not many would’ve foreseen a rifling Akanji following being the opening goal of the game, but that’s how it panned out. Once again excellent from the Swiss man.

Ruben Dias – 6.5

Solid at the back before he was replaced by his partner in crime John Stones after 67 minutes.

Josko Gvardiol – 6.5

Made his return to action after a period on the sidelines with injury. A solid display on the left of defence.

Rodrigo – 7

Extended his undefeated run to 60 games across all competitions in typical Rodri fashion, before being replaced at half-time by Sergio Gomez.

Mateo Kovacic – 7

Another well-rounded display from the Croatian maestro, pulling the strings in the centre of the park.

Matheus Nunes – 6.5

Nunes probably hoped he would’ve been more involved for the blues tonight. However, we’re sure he wouldn’t have minded his involvement if it prevented the dislocation of his finger in the second half. Ouch.

Oscar Bobb – 6.5

Some delicate touches but ultimately not involved very much.

Julian Alvarez – 8

Creator of the first and scorer of the second, Alvarez gave Pep Guardiola a decision to make for this weekend’s crucial match against Liverpool.

Erling Haaland – 7

Scorer of City’s third goal, it was a pretty standard Haaland performance with limited action though still cropping up with a goal when needed.

Substitutes:

Sergio Gomez – 6.5

Nothing spells a Pep Guardiola substitution quite like a defender, replacing a midfielder, to play in attack, when Sergio Gomez took up a spot on the wing after replacing Rodri at half-time.

John Stones – 6.5

Replaced Ruben Dias who was a booking away from suspension. Did his job finely upon arrival.

Micah Hamilton – 6

Home debut in this competition for Hamilton, who made his presence felt earlier in the season scoring on his debut away against Red Star Belgrade.

Jacob Wright – N/A