With a 3-0 lead from the home leg, Manchester City were big favorites to advance ahead of the second leg against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night. When Erling Braut Haaland, after a difficult start to the match, scored 4-0 on aggregate after 57 minutes, there was no longer any doubt: City will meet Real Madrid in a thrilling semi-final. At the same time, Haaland became the player in history who has scored 35 Champions League goals in the fewest matches. This was the 22-year-old’s 27th game in the tournament. Ruud van Nistelrooy spent 42 matches doing the same, Kylian Mbappé 54, Lionel Messi 55 and Robert Lewandowski 66. He also became the youngest to score 35 goals in the Champions League. – He is 22 years old. He is an incredible machine, says City manager Pep Guardiola at the press conference after the match. WELL HAPPY: Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Erling Braut Haaland after the match. Photo: KERSTIN JOENSSON / AFP An animal in the back room Afterwards, dribbling winger Bernardo Silva acknowledges that Haaland’s presence has changed City’s way of playing in big games. He believes they have become less concerned with managing matches, and more comfortable with letting the opponent into the pitch for periods. – Erling is a special player. A different player than what we have had in the past. He doesn’t need many touches. He is like a shadow for 85 minutes and is on the ball when a goal comes, says Silva to BT Sport. – Because we have that special player now, we might feel more comfortable defending more. When they give us space at the back, we know we have that animal running in the back room, and the special link between him and Kevin De Bruyne is very dangerous, says Silva. Received a red for Haaland’s foul – saved by VAR The opening had the impression that one team was desperate to score. Bayern Munich simply had no other option than to shovel on, and after 17 minutes Leroy Sané should have given the home team new hope alone with the goalkeeper. TACKLE OF FATE: Dayot Upamecano’s tackle on Erling Braut Haaland qualified for a red card, but Haaland turned out to be offside. Photo: LEONHARD SIMON / Reuters He didn’t, and two minutes later Erling Braut Haaland was suddenly alone with the goalkeeper on the other side of the field. Dayot Upamecano had no choice but to cut down City’s Norwegian goal monster, and referee Clément Turpin was quickly in his pocket and fished out the red card. But when the VAR referees took a closer look at the situation, it turned out that Haaland was offside before he was fouled. Thus, Upamecano and Bayern escaped with the horror. Missed penalty After 37 minutes, Haaland was again in the lead role. Then the referee pointed to the penalty mark – after the ball hit the arm of Upamecano in the Bayern area. This time VAR did not come to the rescue. The Norwegian with 47 club goals so far this season stepped up to put number 48, while Leon Goretzka did everything he could to disrupt the preparations. HERE IS GOING WRONG: Erling Braut Haaland was unable to shuffle his feet correctly when he had the chance to puncture the quarter-final from the penalty spot in the first half. Photo: LEONHARD SIMON / Reuters Perhaps he succeeded in that. To the great frustration of manager Pep Guardiola and everyone else with a heart for Manchester City, Haaland blew the ball over the goal in front of the Bayern Munich fans – who did not miss the chance to mock the former Dortmund striker from the stands. – Erling will learn from it. That he should take the ball and get out of the situation and then carry out the process and take the penalty. Next time he will be more confident and have more confidence, says Guardiola in response to questions from VG at the press conference. – This is the moment that gives Bayern hope, stated TV2’s expert commentator Brede Hangeland after Haaland had missed his first penalty kick in the City kit. In fact, he had scored 18 penalties in a row for club and national team before the miss at the Allianz Arena. The last time Haaland missed from the chalk mark was for Borussia Dortmund against Union Berlin on April 21, 2021. Just before the break, Bayern created several great scoring chances, but City rode it out and took the 3-0 lead into the dressing room after three out of four quarters in the quarter-finals. Manager Pep Guardiola does not hide that they struggled. – Before the penalty kick they had one or two chances, but we defended very well. The second half was much better, he says, according to Sky Sports. Historic goal Bayern kept their grip after the break, but after 54 minutes Haaland would again have the chance to puncture the quarter-final definitively. Relatively unpressured, however, he was unable to get a good enough shot, and the shot was food for Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer. THE SEMI-FINAL ROAR: When Erling Braut Haaland shot Manchester City up 4-0, there was reason to let loose the jubilation. Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP But Erling Braut Haaland is, as you know, Erling Braut Haaland, and on the third attempt it was set. 57 minutes had been played when Bayern got another mega-chance, but City parried and shot wide. Haaland stood on the halfway line and nodded the ball down to Kevin De Bruyne. Then he turned up, stormed towards the Bayern goal and had the ball served by his accustomed court master. A simple feint caused Upamecano to lose his footing. With his favorite foot, the left, Haaland scored his 48th City goal in 41 games this season, the twelfth in the Champions League. It was the nail in the Bayern coffin, although Joshua Kimmich made it 1–1 in the match and 4–1 on aggregate from the penalty spot after 83 minutes. Now Real Madrid are waiting in the semi-finals for Manchester City. In the second semi-final, two teams from the same city, Inter and Milan, meet.
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Missed his first penalty in two years – then Erling Braut Haaland made history again – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
