Rodri screamer lifts Man City over Bayern Munich in Champions League
It started off as a cagey, closely run tactical battle, but it ended up being a blowout. Manchester City held their nerve and tore Bayern Munich apart to secure a 3-0 victory from the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
"For 55-60 minutes it was a tight game," said City manager Pep Guardiola after the match. "But after 65 minutes, we found the second goal — that helped us a lot — we made some changes in our pressing and that worked better."
Man City started the game with a three-man defense of Akanji, Ake, and Dias, which pushed center back John Stones into midfield — a trick Pep has trialed this season in the Premier League.
Bayern countered with De Ligt, Upamecano, and Pavard, the latter of whom successfully marked City's Jack Grealish out of the first half.
It looked like this defensive battle would be the game's main story until Rodri's moment of brilliance in the 27th minute. With a moment of space on the outside of Bayern Munich's penalty area, the Spaniard attempted a speculative, wrong-footed volley — and wound up scoring his first-ever Champions League goal.
"It was very special for me, with a good goal and my first goal in the Champions League," Rodri said. "I think that gave us a lot of confidence to get going."
From there, Bayern were forced to attack — and their defensive line began to tire. Upamecano, a man who has been near flawless this season in the Bundedsliga, fell several steps behind the pace, and his decline spelled the end for Bayern.
It was his error that lead to City's second goal, with Bernardo Silva out-leaping him to knock in a header, and Erling Haaland soon outran him to score a third.
Tuchel's Bayern must defeat City by three goals or more next week in Munich to stay alive in the Champions League — and while that's an unlikely outcome, Guardiola and City aren't exhaling just yet.
"I lived three years in Munich," Guardiola chuckled. "I know their mentality and quality. We still have a game to play."
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