Manchester City 3 FC Copenhagen 1: City player ratings as City cruise through at the Etihad

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City booked there in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable 3-1 win over FC Copenhagen at the Etihad Stadium. It gave the European champions a 6-2 aggregate win over the two legs and in truth, it was a comfortable night for Pep Guardiola’s side who did the job required in a professional display.

The European champions effectively ended the tie with two goals in the opening ten minutes to give them an unassailable lead over two legs. A 5th minute corner saw Julian Alvarez pick out Manuel Akanji who fired home with a sublime volley to open the scoring.

City’s Argentine striker would then double his team’s lead four minutes later. Alvarez sent in a thunderous strike which was straight at FC Copenhagen keeper Kamil Grabara. But the FC Copenhagen keeper inexplicably split the ball which resulted in City doubling their lead and effectively ending the tie by jumping out to a 5-1 aggregate lead.

Jacob Neestrup’s side to their credit responded well to going down so early. They found a way back into the game in the 29th minute. A quick counter from the visitors saw Mohamed Elyounoussi calmly slot home past Ederson to make it 2-1 on the night.

FC Copenhagen grew into the game following their goal but Erling Haaland scored on the stroke of halftime to restore Manchester City’s 3-1 lead. A lofted ball from Rodri found Haaland who held off two FC Copenhagen defenders to fire home at the near post to allow Pep Guardiola the chance to rest key players in the second half with the tie already won.

The second half became a more open affair with City playing in cruise control and FC Copenhagen attempting to find a way back into the game. But the second half passed without incident bar a sickening finger injury to Matheus Nunes which saw the European champions advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Here are the City player ratings from a comfortable night’s work at the Etihad for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City player ratings

Ederson-5/10: Made one good save in the first half but was unusually sloppy at times with his passing.

Rico Lewis- 7/10: An energetic display as he showed his versatility and immense ability. Was unlucky not to score late as his late effort came back off the crossbar.

Manuel Akanji-8/10: Scored with a fine volley early on to effectively end the tie. A good all-round display as he did his job when required at the back.

Ruben Dias-7/10: Defended and led the team well before being taken off in the 68th minute. Did his job well before getting a well-earned rest.

Josko Gvardiol-6.5/10: A welcome return from the Croatian international. Was good in possession at times but will be better for the run.

Rodri-7.5/10: Was brilliant before being substituted at half-time. Provided a superb assist for Haaland’s goal before being taken off for the bigger battles that lie ahead.

Mateo Kovacic-8/10: Showed his quality in another polished performance.

Oscar Bobb-6.5/10: Showed some flashes of his undoubted ability but like Nunes got stuck on the periphery of the game.

Julian Alvarez-8/10: Scored one and set up Akanji’s opener with a quality delivery from an early corner. Looks back in form after a recent quiet spell.

Matheus Nunes-6.5/10: Tried hard and made a couple of nice runs but was predominantly on the periphery of the game. Unfortunately was substituted with a nasty finger injury midway through the second half.

Erling Haaland-7.5/10: Did his job with a well-taken goal in the first half. Looked dangerous throughout but like his team just meandered through the second half with the tie over.

Substitutes

Sergio Gomez- 6.5/10: Showed snippets of his quality playing on the left wing in the second half.

John Stones-6/10: Came on for the final 20 minutes as City cruised to victory.

Micah Hamilton-6/10: A brief appearance replacing Matheus Nunes. Good for his development to feature late on.

Jacob Wright- Not on long enough to mark.