Haaland, Man City withstand fiery Bayern, but were Real Madrid given a blueprint?
MUNICH, Germany — Manchester City secured their spot in the semifinals of the Champions League as their 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena was enough to see them go through 4-1 on aggregate.
City held a 3-0 advantage heading into the second leg leaving Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel calling for a footballing “miracle” to occur. At stages in the first half Bayern looked like they could threaten a remarkable fightback as they tested City’s resolve with some quickfire attacks, but it was City who should have gone into the break in the lead as Erling Haaland blazed a penalty over the bar following Dayot Upamecano‘s handball.
It was Haaland who put the tie beyond doubt in the second half as he converted from close range to give City a four-goal advantage overall. Bayern continued to chip away and had a Mathys Tel goal disallowed for offside and eventually broke through City’s defence thanks to a Joshua Kimmich penalty in the 83rd minute after Manuel Akanji‘s handball. Tuchel grew increasingly frustrated with the officials and was eventually shown a second yellow card with five minutes left and dispatched to the stands.
City will now face Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals, with the first leg on May 9 followed by the return on May 16.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)
Rapid reaction
1. City keep dreams for three trophies alive
This should prove to be a pivotal week in City’s season. Having safely navigated the bumps and scrapes of Wednesday’s trip to Munich, they have the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday against Sheffield United and then host Arsenal in the Premier League next Wednesday. Win the next two matches and the treble is potentially in their hands. This wasn’t a straightforward match against Bayern but it was Haaland who caused Bayern the most trouble. His 37th-minute penalty should have put the tie beyond all doubt, but his skied effort meant the match retained a nervier air than necessary.
Haaland had already tested Bayern on the counter-attack by that stage, with Upamecano bringing him down when through on goal. Referee Clement Turpin issued Upamecano with a red card, only for it to be cancelled due to Haaland being offside in the build up. Haaland had a decent chance at the start of the second half but shot straight at Yann Sommer but he made amends for that in the 57th minute. It came from a classic City counter-attack as Kevin de Bruyne’s through ball found Haaland who glided past a slipping Upamecano to hammer home.
That proved to be enough to silence the Allianz Arena as clear-cut chances were at a premium for the final 30 minutes. Overall, despite Bayern performing well over the two legs, the work City did in Manchester was enough to see them through, along with that dab of magic from Haaland and defensive resolve in Munich.
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2. Bayern rediscover some fire under Tuchel
It’s two wins from six since Tuchel took charge of Bayern, with the Bundesliga champions exiting the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage for the third season running. But despite the disappointment at another European campaign finishing prematurely, the performance in front of the rocking Allianz Arena should be the blueprint for Bayern heading forward.
The likes of Coman and Sane caused City difficulty, while Jamal Musiala was a constant threat. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka won the midfield battle but they just lacked that clinical edge up front Coman comfortably got the better of Nathan Ake on the left wing, but time and time again he’d manage to get in behind City’s backline but lacked options to turn that into clear cut chances. Eric Choupo-Moting offered a decent presence up front, but John Stones and Ruben Dias managed to pacify his threat.
Though Bayern will be disappointed at going out 4-1 overall on aggregate, there was enough fire in this performance to carry them through to the end of the season.
Tuchel is certainly up for the fight given his outbursts on the touchline. They’re level on points with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga and need to keep the intensity at this level for the rest of the season as they chase their 11th straight German title.
3. City’s run built on defence, but Madrid will take heart
City’s exit last year in the Champions League saw them concede six goals over two legs to Real Madrid. Skipping 2021 as they lost the final 1-0 to Tuchel’s Chelsea, their three previous Champions League departures saw them ship four to Lyon in their one-off match in 2020, four to Tottenham over two legs in 2019 and four to Liverpool in 2018.
So to restrict Bayern to one goal — from the penalty spot — is progress. With Real Madrid next up, City will hope this blueprint holds firm when faced with Carlo Ancelotti’s side. John Stones and Dias played well in the heart of defence, while Rodri also put in a shift.
But Real can take some inspiration from how Bayern attacked City on Wednesday evening. They targeted Ake and got the better of him — so the likes of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo will take notice of that — while City were at times left with some desperate blocks to keep Bayern out.
They also showed how to get into Haaland’s head for the missed penalty. It took nearly three minutes between getting the penalty and Haaland actually taking it — there was the usual time-wasting tactics, complete with Leon Goretzka’s late intervention to clear the pitch.
That wait undoubtedly contributed to Haaland’s skied effort. Real will pick through this match to identify areas where they can unpick City’s defence, but as Bayern found out, City’s backline is a tough old unit to break down.
Best and worst performers
BEST:
Kingsley Coman, FW, Bayern Munich: The French winger caused City’s defence all sorts of bother as he twisted and turned his way past Nathan Ake.
Joshua Kimmich, MF, Bayern Munich: The midfielder dictated play and managed to unpick City’s defence.
Ruben Dias, DF, Manchester City: An exceptional performance from the City centre-back.
WORST:
Nathan Ake, DF, Manchester City: Had a tough night trying to contain Coman and Sane.
Dayot Upamecano, DF, Bayern Munich: He gave away the penalty that Haaland missed and also slipped at the key moment to allow Haaland the time to finish the match off with his 57th-minute goal.
Eric Choupo-Moting, FW, Bayern Munich: The striker struggled to find space in the box and have an impact on the match.
Highlights and notable moments
Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano had a tie to forget against City. His struggles at the Etihad last week extended to the Allianz on Wednesday. Erling Haaland’s offside position kept Upamecano from being sent off for this early challenge.
A lucky escape for Bayern as an offside against Haaland prevents a red for Upamecano. 😅 pic.twitter.com/bjGZ3iUUtB
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 19, 2023
Upamecano later got booked for a handball that led to Haaland’s penalty miss. But the Norway man made up for that setback by sealing the affair in the second half with his 35th career goal in the competition.
Erling Haaland punishes Bayern Munich and he has his 35th Champions League goal. 💥 pic.twitter.com/6HnLkAMAYn
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 19, 2023
After the match: What the players/managers said
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola on the win: “I am so happy to be three in a row semifinals in a row …The result 4-1 did not show what the games were like, I could not expect differently – for how good Bayern Munich are [with their] physicality, ideas. I am impressed when I play against them.”
Bayern’s Thomas Tuchel on the defeat: “We can play at this level, but we can also play at a different level which we unfortunately saw recently .. Today we played at a high level, last Saturday [against Hoffenheim] we did not, and this coming Saturday [vs. Mainz] we have to fight an extra battle.
City’s Bernardo Silva to BT Sport, on if they are looking to exact revenge on Real Madrid: “Hopefully yes! We will go for it definitely. We always go for it but we feel the team is very, very confident at the minute. I think we are going through.”
Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information research)
– Pep Guardiola becomes the third manager with 100 Champions League wins, joining Carlo Ancelotti (107) and Sir Alex Ferguson (102)
– Guardiola also becomes the first manager to reach double digits in Champions League semifinal appearances (10) ahead of Ancelotti (8), Jose Mourinho (8) and Ferguson (7)
– Haaland has now missed two penalties in regulation in 28 career attempts, with his first-half miss snapping a streak of 18 successful conversions
– Haaland, at the age of 22 years and 272 days, breaks Kylian Mbappe‘s (23 years, 260 days) record as youngest to score 35 career Champions League goals
Up next
Bayern Munich: The focus now turns to winning the Bundesliga, with Mainz up next on Saturday (stream on ESPN+, 12:30 p.m. ET). With 10 games left in the season, Bayern remain at the top of the table by two points over Borussia Dortmund.
Manchester City: With their first-leg match in the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid set for May 9, City will try keep their hopes for a treble alive with two huge matches. They take on Sheffield United in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley on Saturday (stream on ESPN+, 11:45 a.m. ET), and then the No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash in the Premier League on April 26 with leaders Arsenal visiting the Etihad.
