Manchester City continued its pursuit of back-to-back Champions League titles by advancing to the quarter-finals of European club soccer’s elite competition with a 3-1 win over Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Goals from Manuel Akanji, Julián Álvarez and Erling Haaland at Etihad Stadium saw City complete a 6-2 aggregate win.
It is the seventh straight season Pep Guardiola’s team has advanced to the quarter-finals and this latest victory extended an unbeaten home run in the Champions League that stretches back 30 games to 2018.
In Wednesday’s other game, Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Leipzig to advance to the quarter-finals.
Potential clashes with some of the giants of European soccer lie in wait with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain all into the next stage.
But few teams would relish the prospect of meeting the defending champions, who remain in contention to become only the second team after Madrid to retain the trophy in its modern guise.
Even Guardiola’s Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona team could not achieve that feat. Should City lift the trophy again, Guardiola would equal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti’s record haul of four Champions League titles.
In Madrid, Real Madrid and Liepzig tied 1-1 as Madrid advanced to the Champions League quarters for the fourth successive season on a day in which coach Carlo Ancelotti was accused of tax fraud by Spanish tax authorities.
Madrid was outplayed during parts of the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium but advanced 2-1 on aggregate thanks to its 1-0 win in the first leg in Germany three weeks ago.
Vinícius Júnior put the hosts ahead after an assist by Jude Bellingham in the 65th and a gritty Leipzig side equalized through Willi Orban in the 68th.
Leipzig had several chances to pull off the upset after a lacklustre performance by Madrid, the record 14-time European champion. Dani Olmo’s attempt hit the crossbar in stoppage time.
The match came after prosecutors in Madrid accused Ancelotti of defrauding Spanish tax authorities of €1-million in 2014 and 2015 during his first stint with the club. Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of four years and nine months for the Italian coach, claiming he used a shell company to hide parts of his income from image rights.
Ancelotti addressed the accusations after the match.
“It’s an old story that started eight years ago because of a tax declaration for 2015,” Ancelotti said. “The tax authority says that I was a resident at the time and I don’t think that I was a resident. I already paid the fine, the money is with them, and now the lawyers are talking to try to find a solution. I’m convinced that I’m innocent, that I was not a resident in 2015, and they think that I was a resident. Let’s see what the judge says.”