Man City, Real Madrid qualify for UCL quarter-finals
Manchester City cruised into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) with a 4-0 aggregate win over Borussia Monchengladbach — after a 2-0 win in their second leg tie at the Puskas stadium in Hungary on Tuesday.
Man City are unbeaten in their past five matches against Monchengladbach and they strolled over the Germans without breaking a sweat or needing to move through the gears.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the first goal in the 12th minute with a thunderous drive from outside the area that hit the post before bouncing into the net for his 25th goal from outside the area in all competitions.
Ilkay Gundogan, German midfielder, doubled the lead six minutes later, collecting Phil Foden’s pass before slotting into the far corner.
Pep Guardiola’s City continued to toy with the Germans but were unable to add to the two-goal cushion despite going close on a number of occasions.
The Cityzens will go into the next round with their sights set on the continental glory that has eluded the Etihad stadium since the takeover.
In the other match of the night, Real Madrid defeated Atalanta 3-1, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Marco Asensio.
The 13-time UCL winners took the lead through Benzema who taped in after Marco Sportiello, Atalanta goalkeeper, saw his poor clearance land at Luka Modric’s feet.
A Rafael Toloi foul on Vinicious Junior inside the box led to a penalty which was dispatched by Ramos on 59 minutes. Asensio scored the third moment after Muriel halved the deficit via a free kick for Atalanta