No surprise.
After a first leg already dominated by the head and shoulders, Manchester City put it back by winning by the same score (2-0), Tuesday March 16 in Budapest, in the eighth-final second leg of the Champions League.
Just nine days after seeing their record-breaking streak for England of 21 consecutive wins in all competitions come to an end, the Citizens give the impression of having started another.
We will have to wait for the quarter-finals, the draw of which is Friday, and an opponent certainly a little more consistent than this drifting Mönchengladbach, to better judge this team, in a competition that has been its nemesis for years.
But the dreams of quadruplets, even minimized by Pep Guardiola in a pre-match press conference, are more relevant than ever.
Manchester City dominate without a real number 9
Bravache, the Twitter account of Borussia had joked before the match on the composition of "Manchester" we do not even need a striker "City", Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Agüero being on the bench.
City remained faithful to the playing principles introduced in mid-December, which saw a side come to support Rodri in the axis of the field in the possession phase, to allow Ilkay Gündogan to join the offensive quartet and attack at 5.
And when the attacking line includes Gündogan, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, it is quite possible to do without real nine.
The demonstration was made in less than 20 minutes.
The joy of İlkay Gündoğan who doubled the lead in the 18th minute.
Man City is formidable at the start of the meeting! #UCL #CityBMG pic.twitter.com/TdHYBA6Zr4
- UEFA 🇫🇷 (@UEFAcom_fr) March 16, 2021
The time for the Belgian playing master De Bruyne to propel an overpowering strike with his left foot - the "bad" one, it seems ... - under the bar (1-0, 12th) before Gündogan does one of these calls from afar that he loves so much this season, to receive a cross pass in a mouse hole from Foden and closely deceive Yann Sommer (2-0, 18th).
It was already the 15th goal this season for the 30-year-old German midfielder, 9 more than in any other year since joining City.
With overwhelming possession of the ball, City were then able to afford an hour of play without pressure but never giving the feeling of falling too easily, even if they did not score afterwards.
Mönchengladbach, caught in a very negative spiral since the beginning of February, sees his Champions League campaign end in a fishtail with a fourth defeat in a row in this competition, a sign that the march was far too high.
City, which was able to run in the second half with the 5 authorized substitutes in C1, will not have had to draw too much on its resources and hope, this year, to end three eliminations in a row in the quarter-finals.
With AFP
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