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Champions League scores: Real Madrid hold on vs. RB Leipzig as Manchester City advance to last eight

Los Blancos nearly conceded a late equalizer to RB Leipzig

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Manchester City and Real Madrid became the latest teams to book their spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, though they earned their berths in contrasting fashion.

While things were fairly straightforward for City in their 3-1 win over Copenhagen, both Madrid and RB Leipzig played to a 1-1 draw that came to a never finish. Here's a closer look at both of Wednesday's matches.

Wednesday's results

  • Manchester City 3, Copenhagen 1 (Manchester City lead 6-2 on aggregate)
  • Real Madrid 1, RB Leipzig 1 (Real Madrid lead 2-1 on aggregate)

City cruise to victory

The reigning champions picked up another commanding win against Copenhagen and wrapped up the tie fairly quickly. City were up 2-0 by the 10th minute thanks to goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez, but left enough room for Mohamed Elyounoussi to score a brilliant team goal in the 29th minute.

Erling Haaland, though, sealed the deal with a goal in second half stoppage time. City are now the last team left in the Champions League to have won each of their games and maintain their status as the team to beat in this season's competition.

Madrid leave it late

Real Madrid snuck their way into the round of 16 after an uninspiring performance in which they barely got the job done. They failed to register a shot on target until the second half but in a moment of brilliance, the hosts took the lead after Vinicius Junior scored off a counterattacking play in the 65th minute.

That lead was short lived thanks to Willy Orban's equalizer just three minutes later. Both teams eyed a go-ahead goal in the game but did little to really make that reality, though Dani Olmo's attempt in the 92nd minute hit the crossbar before going out. Both sides generated an expected goals score of less than one, and perhaps left a lot on the table on Wednesday.

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Final whistle

  • Manchester City 3, Copenhagen 1 (Manchester City lead 6-2 on aggregate)
  • Real Madrid 1, RB Leipzig 1 (Real Madrid lead 2-1 on aggregate)

While it was smooth sailing for City, Real Madrid scrape their way to the quarterfinals thanks to a moment of brilliance from Vinicius Junior. The quarterfinal field is so far made up of teams expected to advance, and will leave it up to next week's matches to produce drama.

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Olmo's close

90'+2 Both sides have struggled to really find meaningful goalscoring chances but Olmo got as close as anyone to shaking up this tie with a well-taken strike, but it hit the crossbar before going out.

 
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Last few minutes in Madrid

88' Both sides have had their chances since Orban's equalizer, but have done little to muster a convincing opportunity to alter the game state. That's especially true for Leipzig, who are now up to 18 shots that amount to a paltry expected goals tally of just 0.88.

 
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Meanwhile in Manchester

79' There's not much to report on the game at the Etihad because it looks like both Manchester City and Copenhagen are in a holding pattern. With a four goal lead for City in this tie, there was little incentive for an entertaining second half and with about 10 minutes left on the clock, we already probably know how this one will end.

 
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Obran levels!

68' And just like that, Leipzig are back in it. Raum whips the ball into the penalty area and Orban is there for a header from close range, meaning it's 1-1 today but Real Madrid lead 2-1 in the tie. There's still plenty of time on the clock, though...

 
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Vinicius scores!

65' At long last, Real Madrid have their goal. The hosts pounce on the counterattack and after a quick connection between him and Bellingham, Vinicius Junior scores from close range to finally break the deadlock at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid are up 1-0 on Leipzig today and lead 2-0 on aggregate.

 
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Still nothing in Madrid

62' Neither side has really brought much in terms of meaningful attacking output in this second half, with Leipzig still boasting the game's lone shot on goal so far. Kroos and Bellingham each just had a crack at goal but nothing really came of it. The good news for Real Madrid is that they're still ahead in this tie, but they have done little to convince anyone they're truly the better team today.

 
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Second half underway

The matches in Manchester and Madrid have resumed and while City feel like they're 45 minutes away from cruising to victory, there's still plenty to play for for both Real Madrid and Leipzig.

 
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Halftime scores

  • Manchester City 3, Copenhagen 1 (Manchester City lead 6-2 on aggregate)
  • Real Madrid 0, RB Leipzig 0 (Real Madrid lead 1-0 on aggregate)

The scorelines just about say it all here. City's doing the expected against Copenhagen, while Real Madrid enter halftime with just three shots and not a single one on target. Leipzig, meanwhile, have six shots and one on target, all while losing the possession battle. While one tie seems more ore less over, another feels very much in the balance.

 
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Haaland strikes!

45'+3 Haaland makes his way into the box and after outmaneuvering McKenna, he finds a little bit of space and scores from close range just before halftime. It's 3-1 to City today, 6-2 on aggregate.

 
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Elyounoussi scores!

29' Copenhagen pull one back -- and do so in stellar fashion. Solid build-up play -- including a backheel assist from Oskarsson -- leads to Elyounoussi scoring from close range, which makes it 2-1 today and 5-2 in the tie. It's still not enough to suggest Copenhagen has enough in them to mount a comeback, but at least they have a very nice goal to show for their efforts today.

 
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Meanwhile in Madrid

20' While we can assure you there is, in fact, another game on right now, there isn't a lot to report for it so far. There has yet to be a shot on target after about 20 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu and though Real Madrid are dominating possession considerably, they have just one shot while Leipzig have three.

 
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Alvarez scores!

9' It's already 2-0 to City, this time with a goal from Alvarez. He sent the ball into the box from the left flank, and though Copenhagen goalkeeper Grabara was well positioned to save it, he fails to keep the ball out of the net. City are now up 5-1 in this tie and, with barely any time played, seem to have put this game out of reach.

 
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Current scores

  • Manchester City 3, Copenhagen 1 (Manchester City lead 6-2 on aggregate)
  • Real Madrid 1, RB Leipzig 1 (Real Madrid lead 2-1 on aggregate)
 
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Akanji on the board!

5' It may come as no surprise that City have taken the lead in the opening minutes, but the goalscorer might be surprising! Akanji is unmarked on a corner and hits it on the volley in stunning fashion to give City a 1-0 lead early on against Copenhagen and a 4-1 advantage in the tie.

 
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First half underway

The games have kicked off in Manchester and Madrid with quarterfinal berths on the line. Time to find out if things will be as routine as they were yesterday.

 
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Guardiola's confidence in Haaland

Haaland is one of James Benge's players to watch this week in the Champions League for many reasons, including the fact that he scored in the Manchester derby over the weekend. He had a high-profile miss to go along with his goal, but Guardiola only had praise for him post-match.

  • Guardiola: "The great, great players I met, I was lucky to manage many of them, they forget [misses] in an instant. They forget as quickly as possible. Footballers, basketball players. They miss. They just smile and get on with it and he did it. He has an incredible ability to forget. That defines the great players."
 
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Simons key for Leipzig

Real Madrid might be the favorites to advance but considering they only carry a 1-0 advantage, it's not time to call time on Leipzig's Champions League run just yet. That's especially the case considering they have Xavi Simons on the books, who has impressed during his loan spell and not only might be welcomed back to his parent club Paris Saint-Germain soon, but also has the makings to be a top talent in Europe according to Guillem Balague.

  • Balague: "He's a goalscorer. He's an [assister]. He's a leader. He's only 20. I think he's got all the attributes to become one of the superstars of European football. I'm convinced, and also his mentality has changed. When he was at Barcelona, he thought he had it easy. He thought he was going to get into the first team. He was just convinced he was going to become a superstar and then the obstacles started and things that he had to overcome. He had a very big hit on his confidence earlier in his career when he was 18. 19, and then it all started going up in the last couple of years. Going to PSG obviously makes all of the sense in the world, he belongs to them, but his performances at RB Leipzig suggest he has it. He absolutely has it."

Watch the full Morning Footy segment below.

 
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Bellingham returns

After missing the first leg with an ankle injury, Bellingham is back in the lineup for Real Madrid's match against RB Leipzig. He's aiming to add to his stellar record so far in Champions League play this season -- he has four goals and three assists in five games. Here's a look at both teams' lineups.

Real Madrid starting XI: Lunin, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Kroos, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior

RB Leipzig starting XI: Gulacsi, Henrichs, Orban, Lukeba, Raum, Haidara, Schlager, Olmo, Simons, Openda, Sesko

 
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Haaland starts, De Bruyne on the bench

Guardiola is still running with a top-tier team for today's clash but with a 3-1 advantage over Copenhagen, it seems like there's room for a little rotation. Haaland still leads the line but De Bruyne will start this one on the bench, while 20-year-old Bobb also enters the lineups. Here's how both teams will start.

Manchester City starting XI: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bobb, Alvarez, Nunes, Haaland

Copenhagen starting XI: Grabara, Ankersen, Jelert, Vavro, McKenna, Diks, Froholdt, Oskarsson, Clem, Achouri, Elyounoussi

 
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Hello and welcome!

The Champions League round of 16 rolls on today, with Manchester City and Real Madrid the favorites to clinch their spots in the quarterfinals. Stick around for team news and then updates from the two matches.