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Manchester City have one foot in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League after hammering Bayern Munich 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s men were imperious at the Etihad Stadium and put the Bundesliga champions to the sword on a memorable evening.
Thomas Tuchel was left bewildered by the Bavarians’ collapse and they have it all to do in order to reach the last four.
The hosts controlled the game’s opening stages, carving out half a sight of goal after seven minutes. Bernardo Silva managed to scamper away from Alphonso Davies and pulled the ball back for Kevin De Bruyne to cross for Ilkay Gundogan, whose header sailed over the top.
Yann Sommer was nearly guilty of gifting Man City a goal when he took his time to clear the ball off the line, with Erling Haaland getting a deflection on his pass from mere yards out after charging down the Bayern goalkeeper.
Gundogan looked destined to tap the ball in at the near post following a neat Man City move but was denied at the last by an outstretched leg of the retreating Joshua Kimmich.
Man City should have had the lead when Jack Grealish’s clever flick afforded Haaland time and space to wind up a shot, but his strike from the edge of the area was uncharacteristically tame and Sommer was able to hold the shot.
Their wastefulness was nearly punished when Leroy Sane skipped past Manuel Akanji and cut the ball back for Jamal Musiala, whose fierce shot was bravely blocked by Ruben Dias with the strike destined for the net as it had wrong-footed Ederson.
With their next attack, Man City deservedly broke the deadlock. Rodri was closed down by Musiala from 25 yards but was able to cut back onto his weaker left foot, and with one swing used it to strike the ball right into the top corner, scoring his first ever Champions League goal and stunning the Etihad crowd.
They went close to doubling their advantage minutes later. De Bruyne’s deflected looping cross bounced and was punched up by an unsure Sommer, who was clattered by Grealish and fell acrobatically to the floor. Gundogan rushed in to lash forth a half-volley, but the Swiss stopper somehow adjusted his contorted body to deny him.
Ex-Man City winger Sane came close to finding a leveller in first-half stoppage time, letting fly from 25 yards after coming in from the right. However, the ball bounced just the wrong side of the post and Bayern went into the break behind.
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Sane had the first shot of the second half when he galloped at the Man City backline and lined up a shot from the edge of the area, with Ederson thumping the ball to one side with his chest. Soon after, he raced clear of Akanji and again forced the Brazilian into a low save.
Dayot Upcamecano and Benjamin Pavard played Bayern back into trouble when attempting to pass the ball back to Sommer, with Joshua Kimmich providing a vital block to deny Haaland from point-blank range.
Back at the other end, Sane again was allowed time to twist and turn to fire at goal, with Ederson coming to Man City’s rescue once more.
Guardiola’s men were beginning to bend and wilt under the pressure, though were still carving out chances of their own. Nathan Ake raced forward beyond Grealish and saw his near-post strike palmed away by Sommer.
From the resulting corner, Sommer had to produce a stunning save on the stretch to keep out Dias’ toe-poke.
The Bayern resistance was broken again with 20 minutes remaining. Grealish robbed Upamecano of possession and sent Haaland racing away. It looked for all the world that he would fire at goal, but he instead crossed for Bernardo Silva to head into the roof of the net.
Substitute Julian Alvarez went close to adding a third, only for Sommer to push away his low effort.
Man City did have their third entering the final quarter of an hour. Gundogan’s cross was headed back across goal by John Stones, and Haaland was on hand to direct the ball past Sommer.
Bayern will have to overturn this hefty deficit back at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of this quarter-final next week – a task which looks near impossible based on this showing.
GK: Ederson – 7/10 – Forced into a few smart saves, mostly by former teammate Sane.
RB: Manuel Akanji – 7/10 – Started very strongly and was largely solid but had the space in behind him exploited by Sane a fair bit in the second half.
CB: John Stones – 7/10 – Stepped into midfield as usual, though this time from a more central position.
CB: Ruben Dias – 8/10 – Produced a series of outstanding blocks and tackles.
LB: Nathan Ake – 8/10 – Shut down Coman completely. Job well done.
DM: Rodri – 8/10 – Phwoar, who know Rodri had that in his locker? Enjoyed the midfield battle, too.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 6/10 – Not at his best but still troubled Bayern with his crossing. Picked up an ankle problem shortly before being substituted.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 8/10 – Whether linking play, running in behind or playmaking, Gundogan was excellent with everything he did.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 9/10 – A deserved goal and assist for a man who has struggled for regular game time this season. Set the tempo with his aggressive pressing and desire to run at Bayern.
CF: Erling Haaland – 8/10 – Ironically didn’t look like too much of a goal threat until late on, but he clearly made the Bayern defence nervous and this eventually told.
LW: Jack Grealish – 7/10 – Played with plenty of confidence and arrogance, a swagger in his step.
Substitutes
Julian Alvarez (68′ for De Bruyne) – 7/10
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 9/10 – The gameplan of his dreams came to fruition.
GK: Yann Sommer – 8/10 – Bayern would have lost by five or six if not for Sommer’s heroics.
RB: Benjamin Pavard – 4/10 – Very much like watching Bambi on ice.
CB: Dayot Upamecano – 2/10 – Way out of his depth and Man City essentially bullied him out of possession.
CB: Matthijs de Ligt – 5/10 – The only Bayern defender with a hint of competence.
LB: Alphonso Davies – 4/10 – Looked like his mind was elsewhere. Chewed up and spat out by Silva.
CM: Joshua Kimmich – 7/10 – Absolutely did not deserve to play on a team on the receiving end of such a beating.
CM: Leon Goretzka – 5/10 – Offered next to nothing in the midfield battle.
RM: Kinglsey Coman – 5/10 – Got absolutely nothing out of his duels with Ake, but at least tried to make inroads.
AM: Jamal Musiala – 5/10 – Failed to release the ball quickly and was failed to stamp his authority on the game.
LM: Leroy Sane – 7/10 – Can leave his former stomping ground with his head held high after proving to be Bayern’s most threatening player by a considerable distance.
CF: Serge Gnabry – 4/10 – Absolutely not a striker. Gobbled up by City’s four centre-backs.
Substitutes
Sadio Mane (69′ for Musiala) – 4/10
Joao Cancelo (80′ for Davies) – N/A
Thomas Muller (80′ for Gnabry) – N/A
Manager
Thomas Tuchel – 4/10 – Clearly needs more time to work with his new team.
