UEFA Champions League Cup
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Football | UEFA Champions League 2023 | Quarter-Finals First Leg | Roundup

By Robert Wheeler

  • Man City convincingly beats Bayern Munich
  • Pep Guardiola gets one over Thomas Tuchel
  • Chelsea was defeated away to Real Madrid
Europe – It was a mixed bag for the two British teams left in the Champions League, Man City beat Bayern Munich but Chelsea was defeated by Real Madrid.

 

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City put three past Bayern

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Manchester City destroyed Bayern Munich 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium to put themselves in a very good position to reach the semi-finals. The match was also revenge for Pep Guardiola‘s side who lost to the now Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel when he was in charge at Chelsea in the 2021 final.

Rodri fired City ahead in the first half with a strike into the top corner. Yann Sommer who is Bayern’s goalkeeper whilst Manuel Neuer is still injured had no chance. Bernardo Silva then doubled their lead with a header that was assisted by Erling Haaland. The Norwegian then went from provider to goalscorer with a finish from John Stones’ knockdown which secured a 3-0 victory.

City still needs to get the job done at the Allianz Arena next week but being three goals up they will be very confident of progressing in the tournament. Tuchel’s side faces a steep uphill battle when they host Guardiola’s men next week.

Events are looking up for Guardiola’s side, they are back in the race for the Premier League and look a shoo-in for the semi-finals of the Champions League. Could City do the double this year?

 

Not game over for Chelsea

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Frank Lampard‘s side was not given much hope going into this tie, especially with how poorly they played in his first game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, Chelsea put on a brave performance against Real Madrid and it is still all to play for back at Stamford Bridge in the return leg.

Early on at the Bernabeu, Joao Felix had a great chance to give the Blues the lead. However, former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois was equal to it. Karim Benzema then opened the scoring for the home side with a tap-in after Vinicius Junior‘s initial effort was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Courtois was then forced into making a wonder save to deny Raheem Sterling an equaliser. Events then took a turn for the worse for Chelsea when Ben Chilwell was shown a red card for a foul on Rodrygo which denied a goalscoring opportunity. Los Blancos took advantage of this and sealed the victory when Marco Asensio came off the bench and put them 2-0 up with a strike from the edge of the box.

There is a lot to do for Lampard’s side back at home next week. The team he won the competition with back in 2012 produced some astonishing comebacks on the way to lifting the title and they will need to gain inspiration from the spirit of Roberto Di Matteo‘s side if they are to progress.

 

Predictions vs actual results:

Rob’s prediction Actual result
Manchester City 2-1 Bayern Munich Manchester City 3-0 Bayern Munich
Real Madrid 3-0 Chelsea Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea

Chelsea plays Real Madrid on Tuesday, April 18 and Man City faces Bayern on Wednesday, April 19 in the second leg of the quarter-finals.