Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (6-2 agg): Player ratings as Champions League holders march on in second gear

Manchester City cruised past Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday night, putting the Danes to the sword at the Etihad Stadium with a 3-1 second leg win.

Early goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez effectively killed off the tie barely any sooner than the game had kicked off. Mohamed Elyounoussi did pull a high quality goal back, but Erling Haaland ensured City made it eight consecutive games with three goals in Europe this season.

Pep Guardiola's side had none of the trouble that neighbours Manchester United experienced with Copenhagen in the group stage, and with a solid chunk of the work already done in the first leg in Denmark last month anyway, cup holders City now take up their place in the quarter-final draw.

How the game unfolded

After dominating the ball for the first five minutes, it was one attempt, one goal for City, as Akanji met Alvarez’s corner to impressively volley in with his right foot and immediately extinguished any already faint hope that Copenhagen might have had about mounting an aggregate comeback.

That early pressure continued, although there was a slice of fortune about City's ninth-minute second. Alvarez almost registered his second corner assist as Rodri's header struck the crossbar, with the ball making its way back out to the Argentine on the left. He cut inside and shot from wide, watching the ball slip through the grasp of ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Kamil Grabara.

There was a slight bump in the road when Elyounoussi cut into that sizeable overall lead with what was actually a very good goal, the former Southampton winger exchanging a sharp one-two with striker Orri Oskarsson that the teenager skilfully backheeled into his path to finish.

But the four-goal aggregate margin was restored when Haaland drew level with Sergio Aguero's tally Champions League, with his 41st in the competition on the stroke of half-time. The Norwegian found a pocket of space between defenders to receive Rodri's diagonal ball and then wrongfoot Grabara.

Copenhagen continued to make a go of it in the second half - the travelling support certainly never lost their voice - but there seemed to be an underlying acceptance that the tie was over as a contest. There was certainly little reason for City to keep exerting themselves in that sense, given that they face an enormously important trip to Liverpool at the weekend.

Substitutions from each manager also disrupted the flow and ultimately the remainder of the game saw little in the way of genuine chances as the Danes put pressure on without hitting the target. However, it was almost 4-1 in stoppage time when Rico Lewis' struck the bar via a deflection.

Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Almost got caught out early in the second half when a slack pass with picked off, with Copenhagen failing to capitalise.

RB: Rico Lewis - 7/10 - Readily inverted into midfield when in possession. Typically busy.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Looked like a seasoned striker when he fired City into the lead.

CB: Ruben Dias - 6/10 - Might have been a little vulnerable had Copenhagen offered a little more consistent quality. Hardly misplaced a pass, though.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 - Didn't face much in the way of wide threats.

CM: Rodri - 8/10 - Killer long pass made Haaland's goal and then withdrawn at half-time moments later, presumably for some well deserved rest.

CM: Mateo Kovacic - 7/10 - Kept the ball away from the visitors to prevent them building a real head of steam and also effective in winning it back.

RM: Matheus Nunes - 6/10 - Would have been hoping to make the most of a relatively rare start but ended up limping off the pitch in the second half.

AM: Oscar Bobb - 5/10 - An early chance forced one of the corners from which City scored, but his impact wasn't really there.

LM: Julian Alvarez - 8/10 - An assist and then a goal inside the first nine minutes. His delivery from those early corners caused all kinds of problems.

ST: Erling Haaland - 7/10 - Took his goal in true Haaland fashion, showcasing awareness, strength and a prolific nose for goal. Teammates didn't create that much else for him.

Substitutes

SUB: Sergio Gomez (46' for Rodri) - 6/10

SUB: John Stones (68' for Dias) - 6/10

SUB: Micah Hamilton (74' for Nunes) - 6/10

SUB: Jacob Wright (88' for Haaland) - N/A

Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Scott Carson (GK), Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Mahamadou Susoho

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 8/10 - Took the opportunity to rest and rotate to good effect.

Player of the match - Julian Alvarez (Man City)

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