Man City beat Bayern
It is too early to talk about the championship, but the performance against the mighty opponent from Germany suggests that this could be the year of Man City and Pep Guardiola in the European arena. The Premier League champions ended the game with less possession (46%), a rarity when they played at home, but scored three goals and kept a clean sheet in a tug of war.
The 3-0 result surprised many, at least with what Bayern have shown this season. In the Champions League, they all won whether in the group stage against Barca, Inter or the 1/8 round, PSG. A heavy defeat could be a blow to Bayern's psyche, and newly appointed coach Thomas Tuchel will face a big test in the second leg at the Allianz Arena in the middle of next week.
The two teams played double attack from the first minutes and constantly put pressure to make the opponent make mistakes at home. Haaland warned the Bayern defense in the 5th minute, with a corner shot wide of the post. Then there was the ice phase to receive a cross from Kevin De Bruyne and then headed over the bar by Ilkay Gundogan. Haaland proved very determined in the rematch with Bayern - the opponent he had lost seven times before, when he was still at Dortmund. His aggressive moves many times opened up space for the home team.
But Man City's opening goal was imprinted with the imprint of midfielder Rodri. Receiving the ball in front of the box, he turned around Jamal Musiala and cut his heart with his non-dominant left foot to a high corner, leaving Yann Sommer unable to reach the ball. If it weren't for Sommer's brilliance a few minutes later, Bayern could have lost more to Gundogan's close-range finish.
Bayern put pressure at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half to find an equalizer. In the meeting with the old club, Leroy Sane owns the most opportunities on the away team. Two powerful long shots show the danger from the German player's left foot. The most unfortunate situation was the situation Sane faced but could not beat Ederson in the 49th minute.
Bayern take risks when trying to develop the ball from home against Man City's pressing style. The awkward coordination between Sommer and the defenders, sending the ball to the feet of Jack Grealish and Haaland in the penalty area left no consequences. But when Dayot Upamecano let Grealish steal the ball, the away team paid with a second goal.
A minute into the field, Julian Alvarez threw a cross for John Stones to head to clear the ground for Haaland to score. The 22-year-old striker pointed to the stands and ran towards the corner post. While the faces of the Bayern players were full of disappointment when they returned the ball to the midfield intersection. The German champions know that this result could put the ticket to the next round out of their reach.
Even without the luck and excellence of Sommer, Bayern lost more in the remaining time to Alvarez's long-range finish or Rodri's header. This weekend, Man City face Leicester, and Bayern face Hoffenheim before the two teams rematch on the evening of April 19.
