Manchester City are well on their way to the semifinals after beating Bayern Munich convincingly in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday, 3-0. What looked destined to be a tight, ended up only being the latter the latter, and it all came from Man City. A golazo from Rodri set the tone before second-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland put the hosts on the brink of another semifinal appearance.
But how did everybody perform?
Here are our player ratings:
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Manchester City ratings
Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
(GK) Ederson | 90 | After 49 minutes of exemplary defending from those ahead of him, Ederson delivered a smart save off Leroy Sane to preserve his clean sheet. It was the only real challenge the Brazilian faced on a night where those in front of him excelled. | 6 |
(DEF) Manuel Akanji | 90 | The most press resistant of City's defenders, Akanji was vital in pushing his side through what became an increasingly scrappy Bayern press. Like so many others in Pep Guardiola's backline, the Swiss international pulled out at least one tackle that seemed to defy the laws of physics, reaching back to whip the ball from Kingsley Coman when he seemed away down the left. | 8 |
(DEF) John Stones | 90 | Early on Stones' stepping into midfield could on occasion leave City's build up play gummed up in the middle, not a fault of his own per se, but a tactical plan that took a while to get going. Defensively Stones was composure personified and he delivered similar precision to tee up Haaland for the decisive third goal. | 8 |
(DEF) Ruben Dias | 90 | A brilliant block by the Portuguese defender denied Jamal Musiala in the first half, setting the tone for a performance that one tends not to expect from a City center back. Dias was all action, hurling himself in the path of any shot that came his way, asserting himself on Bayern's quiet center forwards and testing Bayern off set pieces. This was as good a performance as this ground has seen in Europe. | 9 |
(DEF) Nathan Ake | 90 | Not for the first time this season, Ake excelled in his one vs. one defense, effectively blocking Kingsley Coman's path to goal in the 23rd minute. As the match wore on, this repurposed center back asked more and more questions of the Bayern defense but he stood out tonight for having an answer to every question Bayern asked of him. | 8 |
(MID) Rodri | 90 | ⚽ 27' Rodri might never score a better goal with his stronger right foot than the peach of a left footed strike that fired City into the lead. If that was unexpected the vision he had to block Bayern's passing lanes was just what Guardiola would have priced in today. | 8 |
(MID) Kevin De Bruyne | 68 | His night ended early by an awkward injury, De Bruyne's frustrated expression on the City bench said plenty about how his performance measured up to the exceptional standards he sets for himself. Even on and off night his crossing and passing was a constant menace to Bayern. | 6 |
(MID) Ilkay Gundogan | 90 | Whenever the ball was bouncing around the Bayern box it was Gundogan who seemed to be first to it, drawing perhaps the save of the tournament from Yann Sommer in the first half. The second best block by the Bayern keeper came when Gundogan teed up Julian Alvarez. This was a night where the German always provoked and pounced on mistakes. | 7 |
(FWD) Bernardo Silva | 90 | ⚽ 70' That Alphonso Davies had one of his quieter nights in Europe had much to do with Silva's off ball work. He got his reward for all that hard work with a simply brilliant header at the vital moment. | 8 |
(FWD) Erling Haaland | 90 | ⚽ 76' Though his pressure of Sommer very nearly resulted in an early goal for City, instead he had to wait, volleying home brilliantly in the 76th minute. Somehow even that was not his stand out moment | 8 |
(FWD) Jack Grealish | 90 | From his early dart at the heart of the Bayern defense onwards, it was clear that Grealish's exceptional Premier League form was going to carry on to the biggest stage. Diligent in defense, the club record signing was a vital cog in getting the ball back for City and then advancing them up the pitch. | 8 |
Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Julian Alvarez | De Bruyne, 69' | The young Argentine's first involvement was to exert the pressure on the Bayern backline that led to the second goal. There is no greater compliment you can offer Alvarez than the statement that City got better when he replaced De Bruyne. A superb cameo. | 8 |
Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Pep Guardiola | 1 | Who knew that the doyen of progressive football could coach a defense to Tony Pulis levels of lockdown? Guardiola's side were drilled to within an inch of their life without the ball, a marked contrast with the rabble that City forced at the other end with their energetic pressing. | 8 |
--James Bange
Bayern Munich ratings
Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
(GK) Yann Sommer | 90 | Nearly gifted City a blunder. Can't blame him for conceding the sensational opening goal to Rodri. Made an amazing kick save on Ilkay Gundogan and improved as the game went on. It would have been 5-0 without him. | 6 |
(DEF) Alphonso Davies | 80 | Lively and energetic. Patient in defense. Had his moments but then had to lighten up after a yellow card. Did not mark well on third goal and that will prove costly. | 5 |
(DEF) Matthijs de Ligt | 90 | Almost scored on a power header early in the second half. Did nearly everything well but was let down by his partner in crime, whose inability to look even decent left him out to dry. | 6 |
(DEF) Dayot Upamecano | 90 | Horrendeous. What started just a tad sloppy ended with a crucial error to gift City their second goal. A night to forget with passes that were lacking any accuracy at all. It's like he was playing blindfolded. | 2 |
(DEF) Benjamin Pavard | 90 | Struggled with an in-form Grealish but reacted well to balls in the air. Sloppy in the second half, putting Sommer in a bad position. Also didn't mark Stones as he assisted on the third goal. | 4 |
(MID) Joshua Kimmich | 90 | Didn't get on the ball as much as he would have liked but defended so well, especially in the box in the first half. Was not in control in the second half, but nobody was. | 5 |
(MID) Leon Goretzka | 90 | Could have convinced me that he didn't even play. City bossed the midfield so he was hardly a factor. Sprayed a couple good balls forward, but that was it. The quick passing of City left him flat footed more often than not. | 4 |
(MID) Jamal Musiala | 69 | Hustled back time and time again. Was one of the bright spots early on but got juked out of frame by Rodri on his goal. Tried to do too much with the ball at times. Taken off early. | 4 |
(FWD) Leroy Sane | 90 | Didn't lack confidence and displayed that speed. Missed a very good chance early in the second half after a fine run. Will feel like he missed a chance to get his team back in it. | 4 |
(FWD) Kingsley Coman | 90 | He managed to pass the ball into decent positions but was rarely a threat. Had one shot blocked and really struggled to break down the defense. | 4 |
(FWD) Serge Gnabry | 80 | Nonexistent. Delivered one fantastic longball from deep in his own half, but that was it. If that's all you are getting from the striker, yikes. | 4 |
Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Sadio Mane | Musiala (69') | Only played just over 20 minutes and had a couple runs but was never in position to do damage. | 5 |
Thomas Muller | Gnabry (80') | Late sub who brought energy and motivation but it didn't result in anything. | 5 |
Joao Cancelo | Alphonso Davies (80') | Was whistled by the fans of his parents club and rightfully so. Just had garbage minutes. | 5 |
Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Thomas Tuchel | 3 | It went as bad as it could have gone if I'm being honest. Bayern had a couple of decent looks, but they were beaten convincingly after the half-hour mark. He was brought in to be the difference, but this wasn't what they had in mind. | 3 |
-- Roger Gonzalez