Manchester, United Kingdom After just four games, Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League group stage season is over after they defeated Young Boys by halftime on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola will prefer to win Group G, but with 12 points out of a possible 12, City will be interested in the knockout stages on January 11 for the eleventh consecutive year.
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As they had advanced to the semifinals the previous three years, making it out of their group will be seen as the first little obstacle overcome on the path to greater things, but championship runs must begin somewhere.
It’s easy to believe that the top teams should always win their groups when seeing Guardiola’s squad, but Barcelona was defeated by Shakhtar Donetsk in Group H less than an hour before kickoff at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City
Manchester City is the first club to advance to the Round of 16 and one of just three teams with a perfect record in the group stage this season. Nor would you wager on them being the final team standing following the June championship game at Wembley Stadium.
“Of course, we are incredibly happy to have qualified with two games left,” Guardiola stated. “Yeah, the group stage is simple, they say, but you have to go through it.
“Sometimes you have to fight the tendency people have toward us,” the saying goes. “In life, you have to do it when people expect you to do it.” What matters is that it occurs when someone says, “We qualify.”
We still need to place first in the group and bring the second leg of the final 16 home. We still have work to do, but the qualification process is complete. I was rather pleased.”
Phil Foden’s goal in first-half stoppage time gave City the lead 2-0, effectively ending the return match after the team had defeated Young Boys 3-1 in Switzerland two weeks prior.
Twenty minutes previously, Erling Haaland had already scored a penalty, so Guardiola felt confident enough to substitute Nathan Aké for John Stones. Prior to Sunday’s match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Julián Álvarez were all given the evening off.
After leaving the 6-1 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday due to an ankle injury, Haaland wasn’t even expected to be back, but he felt good enough to score a third goal just after halftime.
Any chance the Swiss champs had of mounting a comeback was gone at that point, and to drive home the point even more, Sandro Lauper received a second yellow card and was dismissed.
Raphael Wicky, the manager, was relieved to see Haaland leave the field early because his team was behind 3-0 and lacked a player. However, Mauricio Pochettino may be grimacing at the prospect of a well-rested Norwegian playing at Chelsea this weekend.
Although Haaland hasn’t received the same recognition as he did at this time last year, the 23-year-old has 15 goals in 17 appearances so far this season.
“Whether it’s the six-yard box or the 18-yard box, he has the talent,” Guardiola stated. “We saw his movements and his level of happiness during the Monday training session. He’s fine; he feels wonderful. He played, the work was nearly finished, and he rested until Sunday the following week.
“Today, we’re a little lacking in the final touch or move in the 18-yard box—that nice, delicate approach. We didn’t perform well enough there, but everything else was excellent.”Consistency has been the defining characteristic of this group of players for many years.
Because of our excellent standards, we qualified for the Champions League and are currently playing in the Premier League.”
The Premier League and the European community are concerned about Manchester City’s increasing assertiveness. It’s now five wins in a row, following three losses in a row. In September and October, Manchester City played six games without a clean sheet; in their previous three games, Manchester City have now played two.
Against Young Boys, Manchester City had such complete control that the visitors failed to muster a shot on goal. They were unable to even gather a corner. However, Manchester City’s winning streak at the Etihad was extended to 23 games, so there’s no shame in dominating.
The only English football team to have had a longer spell in the first division is Sunderland, and they did it more than 130 years ago, from 1890 to 1892.
Manchester City, who have won all of their home Champions League games since 2018, always seems to have things easy. Tests will get harder in the future, but they are starting to click.
Milan overcomes PSG and the top group after falling behind.
In a thrilling match on Tuesday, AC Milan defeated Paris St. Germain 2-1 at home in Champions League Group F thanks to a strong header from Olivier Giroud early in the second half. This was the Italian team’s first victory in the competition this season.
Milan Skriniar, a former Inter Milan defender, had given PSG the lead, but it was short-lived as Rafael Leao scored an incredible equalizer, and Giroud then completed a crucial triumph at the San Siro in front of 75,649 spectators right after the half.
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Milan is now in third place with five points after four games, one point behind PSG in second place with six. After defeating Newcastle United, who are currently in last place with four points, 2-0 at home on Tuesday, leaders Borussia Dortmund now have seven points.
The San Siro game featured end-to-end action at a fast tempo in the first half. Although the second half saw an inevitable slowdown in speed, it was still an exciting contest that Milan had to hang on for as PSG increased their pressure.
PSG captain Marquinhos said to Canal+, “It was a high-level match; we knew the difficulty of coming to play here.” “The second goal changes the game because we were playing well at that point. We knew that if we didn’t win today, qualifying for the knockout stages would be difficult, but we can’t give up.” Everything is still in our control.”
After trailing in a Champions League match for the first time since defeating Real Madrid in 2009, Milan, who advanced to the competition’s semifinals the previous year, emerged victorious.
After nine minutes, PSG took the lead thanks to a skillfully handled corner. After Marquinhos flicked on the set-piece, Skriniar scored his first goal for the Paris team, going uncontested.
After drawing nil against Real Madrid in 2015, they have scored in their last 48 Champions League group stage games, the longest streak in the competition’s history.
However, three minutes later, Leao’s superb finish brought the home team level. Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped Giroud’s first attempt against his old team, but Leao scored an overhead kick as the ball looped into the air.
Next, Ousmane Dembele found himself one-on-one with Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but his looping shot from 25 meters struck the crossbar, and Kylian Mbappe scuffed his effort wide.
The second half saw less bustle in the goalmouth, but Milan took the lead right away thanks to a strong signature header from Theo Hernandez’s excellent cross.
On a misfortunate evening for PSG, Lee Kang-In scored a goal with the post, capping the Parisians’ five-game winning streak.
“We were pleased with the players’ heartfelt and enthusiastic play. Against a fantastic team, we were able to function as a unit,” Milan manager Stefano Pioli remarked.
“The team performed admirably as a unit and earned the victory. We now have to beat Dortmund and get ahead of them.”
On November 28, Milan will host Dortmund, while PSG will host Newcastle.