Man City ease into Champions League semis with 1-1 draw at Bayern; Inter sees off Benfica in thriller

Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland scores the team’s first goal against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal clash in Munich on April 19, 2023
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Manchester City cruised into the Champions League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday secured a 4-1 aggregate win that moved them a step closer to an elusive first title in the competition.

City forward Erling Haaland, who had missed a first-half penalty, made amends in the 57th minute, drilling in his 48th goal in all competitions this season to kill off the tie before Bayern levelled with a Joshua Kimmich penalty in the 83rd.

It was City’s 15th consecutive game without defeat across all competitions and Pep Guardiola’s team, losing finalists in 2021, will next face holders Real Madrid in the last four.

Record for Guardiola

It was also the 10th time Guardiola had reached the semi-finals as a coach, a new record.

“I am so happy to be three in a row semi-finals (with City),” Guardiola said. “I could not expect (Bayern) differently, you saw how good they are.”

“In this competition it is the details. In these two games in the right moments we were there,” said Guardiola, who coached Bayern from 2013-16.

“In the second half we adjusted some things and since minute one in the second half we felt were much, much more in control.”

Bayern always had a mountain to climb after losing 3-0 in the first leg, but got off to a strong start.

Kingsley Coman was a constant source of danger on the wing, keeping City defenders busy, and the hosts’ biggest chance came in the 17th minute when Leroy Sane latched on to a Jamal Musiala pass but dragged his shot wide with only keeper Ederson to beat.

The Bavarians, knocked out of the German Cup two weeks ago following coach Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, caught a break a minute later when defender Dayot Upamecano was initially sent off after receiving a straight red card for a last-man foul on Haaland.

A VAR review, however, confirmed the striker was offside and the Bayern defender’s dismissal was overturned.

Haaland misses, then scores

Upamecano, who had been heavily criticised for his mistake that led to City’s second goal in the first leg, was less fortunate a little later when he was penalised for a handball. Haaland sent his penalty high over the bar, a rare miss for the Norwegian striker this season, but he did much better after the restart.

After combining well with Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland shook off the embattled Upamecano, before beating keeper Yann Sommer, setting a new record having taken just 27 matches to reach 35 goals in Europe’s premier club competition.

City’s goal was the first Bayern conceded at home in the entire competition this season and the hosts, who have only the Bundesliga title left to play for, got an equaliser when Kimmich converted a spot kick.

“It is really annoying that we didn’t take the lead with all the chances that we had,” Kimmich said. I would have liked to see how this match had gone if we had made it 1-0 in the first half.”

Their frustrating evening was completed when Tuchel was sent off after a second booking in the 86th minute.

Inter see off Benfica to set up Milan showdown

Inter drew 3-3 with Benfica on Wednesday to win their Champions League quarter-final 5-3 on aggregate and will face city rivals AC Milan for the right to be the first Italian team to reach the final for six years.

It will be Inter’s first semi-final appearance since they won the European Cup for the third time in 2010, the last Italian Champions League triumph with Juventus losing the 2015 and 2017 finals.

“It will be a special derby,” Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, who ended his 10-game scoring drought by scoring his team’s second goal against Benfica, told Amazon Prime Video.

“We all know what this game means, to play a Milan derby in the Champions League semi-finals.