City score three to put one foot in the semi-final

Manchester City put in an impressive performance at the Etihad Stadium to make themselves heavy favourites for a Champions League semi-final place.

Action: The visitors always looked nervous in Manchester, something that was evident early on when Erling Haaland managed to tackle Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer on the goal line but the ball somehow avoided going into the goal.

City made the breakthrough with just under a half-hour played when Rodri found space on the edge of the area and whipped in a shot that curled around Joshua Kimmich and then past Sommer into the top corner. That was Rodri’s first goal in 45 Champions League games and it was well worth the wait.

After a solid half, the Citizens really stepped into another gear in the second period. 

Bayern were lucky shortly after the restart when Dayot Upamecano, who looked nervous all game, had a mix-up in communication with Sommer but somehow the Bavarian side survived another score.

Eventually, City got a well-deserved second in the 70th minute. Again, the Bayern defence was caught out, this time by Jack Grealish who took the ball of Upamecano and fed in Haaland. The striker did well to choose to cross instead of shoot, with his ball finding Bernardo Silva at the far post to head home.

@Getty /

João Cancelo eventually made his return to the Etihad pitch in the 80th minute. The Portuguese defender had been on the bench – the opposite one from where he was for most of the first half of the season – and came on to boos from what is still, essentially, his own fans.

City defended well throughout the game with Bayern never really looking likely to get back into the game. Thomas Tuchel’s team will need a gigantic performance in Munich to try and salvage something from this tie while City fans can enjoy a great European night.

Man of the Match: A goal and assist for Bernardo Silva who doesn’t always start for City but when he does in big games like this he often shines. The Bayern defence really struggled to deal with his trickery throughout the game.

Stat of the Day: Erling Haaland scored his 45th goal of the season in all competitions – that's the most a Premier League player has ever scored in one campaign, putting the City star ahead of Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy

xG: Man City (2.23) 3-0 (0.87) Bayern

FULL-TIME | A special #UCL night in Manchester ✨

🔵 3-0 🔴 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/1Yxt9NcPav

— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 11, 2023