Defending champions Manchester City last night strolled into the quarter final if the champions League after an easy win over two legs against FC Copenhagen of Denmark.
City won 3-1 like they did in the first leg to qualify in a 6-2 aggregate score to reach their seventh successive quarter final
Ahead by two goals from the first leg in Copenhagen three weeks ago, any lingering hopes of a shock were extinguished within nine minutes as Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez found the net.
Erling Haaland went joint top of the tournament scoring charts alongside Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe as he netted his sixth of the campaign – and 29th in all competitions – as City scored a third before half-time after the visitors had pulled one back.
The Norwegian, has scored in three successive games for the first time since October.
It is good news for City boss Pep Guardiola before the Anfield encounter.
Guardiola had said in the build-up he would not be spending any time thinking about Liverpool until the Copenhagen match was out of the way.
That statement was exposed by the fact he made seven changes to the side that beat Manchester United at the weekend and then replaced key man Rodri at the break.
The changes did not hinder City, who are on the longest current run of successive Champions League quarter-final appearances.
The only English club to ever have done better in the competition is Manchester United, who reached the last eight in seven consecutive seasons from 1996-97 to 2002-03.
With a home encounter with the other Premier League title challenger Arsenal to come on 31 March, this month is likely to be pivotal in City’s quest to become the first club to win the English league title four seasons in a row.
Clearly, Guardiola will need more than 11 players for the task, so he will hope Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes’ badly dislocated finger does not force him to spend any time on the sidelines.
He will also be keenly awaiting next Friday’s draw, when City will discover the route they must take if they are to reach the final at Wembley.
But now, all eyes are on Anfield for this weekend’s showdown with Liverpool in a top of the table clash
Champions League: Unstoppable City March On, Crush FC Copenhagen
