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Man City Truise Towards Champions League Quarters In Copenhagen

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Manchester City closed in on the Champions League quarter-finals with a dominant display to beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the Danish capital on Tuesday.

Kevin De Bruyne’s early opener was cancelled out against the run of play by Magnus Mattsson.

Bernardo Silva restored City’s lead before half-time, but they had to wait until stoppage time to add further punishment for the hosts as Phil Foden turned home De Bruyne’s cut-back.

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The English champions have now won 11 consecutive games in all competitions as they remain on course to repeat last season’s treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

READ ALSO: Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Man City In Six-goal Thriller

Copenhagen had not played a competitive game for two months since sealing their place in the last 16 by dumping out Manchester United and Galatasaray in the group stages.

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That lack of match sharpness from the Danish champions showed in the early stages as City stormed out of the blocks.

De Bruyne headed a glorious chance wide and Kamil Grabara denied Ruben Dias with a fine save inside six minutes.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper had no chance when De Bruyne broke the deadlock on 10 minutes with a clinical low finish from Foden’s pass.

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READ ALSO: Ex-defender Mendy Sues Man City Over Unpaid Wages

Jack Grealish had been surprisingly handed just his second start of the year by Guardiola, but the England international lasted just 15 minutes before he pulled up with a suspected groin injury.

The visitors barely skipped a beat with the enforced change as Jeremy Doku replaced Grealish and nearly set up a spectacular goal for Erling Haaland.

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Doku cushioned Rodri’s pass into the path of the Norwegian, who contorted his giant frame to meet the cross acrobatically on the volley but the ball flew wide.

City had enjoyed nearly 80 per cent possession and barely let Copenhagen inside their half for the first 35 minutes, yet were made to pay for one moment of sloppiness.

READ ALSO: Ex-Man City Star, Benjamin Mendy Breaks Silence After Being Cleared Of R3pe

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Ederson’s poor clearance was straight into the path of Mohamed Elyounoussi and his blocked shot fell to Mattson to mark his debut with a stunning strike from outside the box.

City regained their composure and the lead before half-time.

Mattson was unfortunate as his attempted clearance ricocheted off De Bruyne and perfectly into the path of Silva to flick beyond Grabara.

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The Copenhagen goalkeeper kept his side in the tie in the early stages of the second period with spectacular stops to deny De Bruyne and Doku.

Grabara then twice won a head-to-head battle with Haaland in stoppage time.

City were keen to build up a comfortable advantage with the second leg falling between crucial Premier League games against Manchester United and Liverpool next month.

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And they finally got the third goal that should have killed off the tie when the in-form Foden slammed home his 15th goal of the season as City extended their unbeaten run in European competitions to 21 games.

AFP

 

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EPL: Berbatov Names Team That Can ‘Surprise’ Arsenal In Title Race

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Former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, has named the team that could “surprise” Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners are now six points clear of second-placed Chelsea, thanks to their 4-1 demolition of Tottenham on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men could extend that lead to nine points, when they travel to face the Blues this weekend.

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READ ALSO:EPL: Why Arsenal Could Win The Title This Season – Guardiola

Berbatov has now said he expects Arsenal to be “really tested” over the hectic festive period and says their title credentials will become clearer in the New Year.

Of course Liverpool are low in the table and Man City are dropping points, but there are other teams like Chelsea who can surprise people,” Berbatov told ESPN.

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Six points is a good cushion but in the Premier League it’s nothing and can go very quickly.”

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Champions League: Arteta Gives Arsenal Injury Updates Ahead Bayern Munich Clash

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has given injury updates on his squad ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

The Gunners have won their first four matches in the competition without conceding a single goal.

Arteta’s men will be looking to continue their perfect start with a win over Bayern at the Emirates.

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READ ALSO:EPL: Arteta Wants FA To Overturn Lewis-Skelly’s Red Card In Arsenal Win

Arsenal could have captain Martin Odegaard back for the game, alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.

“Yeah they are [Madueke and Martinelli in contenton to start] and we’re going to have a meeting now to decide on Martin [Odegaard],” Arteta told reporters today.

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“He was very close for the previous game.

“We are confident he can be in the squad as well.”

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EPL: Man Utd Suffer Fresh Injury Blow Ahead Of Everton Clash

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Manchester United manager, Ruben Amorim, could be without Matheus Cunha for Monday’s Premier League clash against Everton.

ESPN reports that Cunha has picked up an injury in training.

The Brazilian suffered what is being described as a “minor knock” during a session on Saturday.

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READ ALSO:EPL: Alan Smith Names Only Two Clubs To Compete For Title

It forced him to miss a scheduled appearance to switch on Christmas lights in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, on Saturday evening.

Amorim will be keen to have Cunha available, as he has already lost striker Benjamin Sesko to a knee injury.

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Since his £62.5 million move from Wolves, Cunha has scored only once in 11 appearances.

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