Manchester City sealed safe passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions League last night, beating FC Copenhagen 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
It was the same scoreline as the first leg, meaning City advanced with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline.
It was a rapid start from City, who went 2-0 up inside 10 minutes thanks to goals from the brilliant Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez.
Copenhagen pulled one back through Mohamed Elyounoussi, but Erling Haaland was on hand to ensure there was to be no miraculous comeback, as he scored just before half-time.
It was a relatively easy night for City, and Pep Guardiola was crucially able to rest players ahead of Sunday’s huge game with Liverpool.
Robbie Savage suggests he hasn’t been convinced by Man City defender Josko Gvardiol
City never really got out of second gear last night, with there never being any jeopardy in the tie thanks to the first-leg result.
That occasionally led to periods of sloppiness from the home side, especially in the second-half.
And there was a moment in the 88th minute when City’s Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol took a heavy touch, which led to a chance for Copenhagen from the edge of the box.
There was little danger for City at that point in the game, but Robbie Savage took the opportunity on commentary for TNT Sports to express his feelings about the 22-year-old.
He said: “Gvardiol, every time I see him, there is a mistake in there. On this occasion, (Peter) Ankersen didn’t get enough curl on it and didn’t hit it with the outside of his right foot trying to guide it into that far corner.”
Despite this moment, Gvaridol was extremely tidy on the ball in the game, with Sofascore data indicating he completed 91/97 passes (94% accuracy).
Gvardiol is doing OK in his first season
It is slightly harsh from Savage to say that he feels there is a mistake in Gvardiol every time he watches him.
Because the former RB Leipzig man has had some really solid outings this term for City, as well as some poor ones.
Ultimately, Gvardiol arrived at City for huge money, and the £130,000-a-week star has largely played out of position the whole team he has been here.
He is naturally a centre-back, and Pep Guardiola has been deploying him as a left-back, so he is having to just think a bit more about what he is doing.
Maybe he hasn’t settled as quickly as some people expected. But Gvardiol is still only 22 years old and has plenty to learn, so he’s going to make some mistakes here and there. But Guardiola will surely be pretty pleased with his level on the whole this term.
