Erling Haaland’s goal in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich gave Manchester City a 4-1 aggregate victory over the Bavarians, setting up a rematch with Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals.
The Norwegian missed a first-half penalty, but midway through the second half he forced his way upfield and blasted past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Yann Sommer for his 48th goal in 41 appearances this season.
Joshua Kimmich’s late penalty gave Bayern the win, but they were once again plagued by their inability to convert chances and possession into points.
For the third year in a row, City will participate in the semifinals, but they will once again face manager Pep Guardiola’s old rival Real, who famously turned the tie in their favor last season by scoring two goals in injury time.
“The semi-final again… the experience that we have in the competition, the players feel it a lot, they want to do really well,” Guardiola told newsmen.
Despite having a spotless record in the Champions League this season, Bayern fired their previous coach, Julian Nagelsmann, in favour of Thomas Tuchel earlier this month. Since then, though, they have been ousted from Europe and the German Cup.
“If we can’t take positives from this match, we would have a problem,” Tuchel, whose side are only two points clear of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga title race, told DAZN.
“At the moment, City are in the best shape, with the best players in the best league in the world.”
The same starting lineup that won the first leg 3-0 in Manchester was selected by Guardiola, who is frequently criticized in the Champions League for changing up his team.
Joao Cancelo, a City loanee who is creative, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the team’s lone recognised striker, were the two substitutions made by Tuchel.