Key occasions
57 min A pleasant backheel from Grealish finds the overlapping Ake, who spanks a first-time drive that’s pushed around the close to submit by Sommer. This is fantastic stuff.
55 min: Vital block by Ake! Sane bullets a right-wing nook to the far submit, the place De Light loses Bernardo and thumps a header that’s blocked unwittingly by his worldwide teammate Ake. I feel that was occurring. Ake knew the sq. root of bugger all about it, nevertheless it hit his head and looped throughout the world. The comply with up was headed away by Dias, although I believe Ederson would have saved that. Not so positive concerning the first one.
54 min Pavard’s cross deflects off Grealish and loops onto the roof of the online with Ederson scrambling. Bayern have been terrific since half-time.
53 min Another whipped long-range shot from Sane is punched away by Ederson, falling to his proper. That was a comparatively comfy save – higher than his first simply after half-time however not in the identical class because the second.
52 min “I was disappointed by a certain Bayern manager’s sacking because I wanted to see him against Pep,” says Yash Gupta. “With all due respect to Tuchel, he had Pep’s number in the last month of the 2021 season but since then he has underwhelmed every single time, and the same will happen again. In an alternate reality Julian Nagelsmann wears pajamas in the Manchester rain and sets the world alight.”
Now we’re attending to the guts of the matter.
50 min: Great block by Kimmich! Another minor farce within the Bayern space, sparked by a misunderstanding between Sommer and Upamecano. Eventually Sommer, below strain from Gundogan, provides the ball straight to Haaland on the sting of the world. Haaland returns it with curiosity and Kimmich throws himself in entrance of the shot to make an excellent block.
49 min Davies is booked for a foul on De Bruyne.
49 min: Brilliant save by Ederson! That was a sensational little bit of goalkeeping. Musiala had house to activate the midway line and thread a cross between Stones and Akanji for Sane. He charged into the world and hammered a low drive throughout aim that was brilliantly stopped by Ederson, low to his left, and Ake desperately accomplished the clearance.
47 min Bernardo is booked for a cynical foul on Musiala. He caught him down the again of the achilles, in actual fact, however Musiala didn’t make something of it.
46 min Ederson known as into motion after 43 seconds. Sane pings a candy long-range strike that wobbles awkwardly and is punched away by Ederson. Actually, replays present he didn’t punch it – he made an unorthodox save his left bicep.
46 min Peep peep! City get the second half below approach. We noticed a number of replays of Rodri’s aim at half-time; it wasn’t fairly within the high nook, as I believed on the time, although it was nonetheless a beautiful strike and such a memorable second.
Half-time studying
Tonight’s recreation is admirable in its personal approach, however everyone knows there’s a cigar with Carlo’s identify on it on the evening of 10 June.
Half time: Man City 1-0 Bayern
Peep peep! City lead by means of a spectacular left-footed roller from Rodri. They created the clearer probabilities in an intense first half at a waterlogged, sweltering Etihad, and Ilkay Gundogan would have made it 2-0 however for an outrageous response save by Yann Sommer.
Mind you, it took a Ruben Dias block to cease Jamal Musiala placing Bayern forward simply earlier than Rodri’s aim, so there’s that as effectively.
45+2 min: Just extensive from Sane! Oof, that was shut. Out of mothing, Sane minimize inside from the precise and throttled a 25-yard drive that wobbled a few yards extensive of the far submit with Ederson scrambling to his proper.
45+2 min Pavard makes a significant lunging sort out on De Bruyne within the space.
45+1 min Rodri, don’t shoot!
45+1 min Two minutes of added time.
45 min “The only two soccer players I’ve ever met in the flesh,” begins Tony Hughes, “were a) Pasquale Bruno in Edinburgh during his stint with Hearts in the 1990s and b) Jaap Stam in a COVID-deserted downtown Cincinnati, in that honeymoon period just after he signed on as FC Cincinnati coach but before he lost almost every game. I approached neither.”
Is Pasquale Bruno the fella who fully misplaced it when he was despatched off for Torino in opposition to Juventus in 1991?
Edit: oh sure it was.
44 min Interestingly, Bayern have had 53 per cent of the possession thus far. But City have carried the higher menace.
41 min De Ligt is now down holding his left ankle, which is an unorthodox response to being denied a goalscoring alternative. Actually, his ankle twisted fairly nastily as he was challenged by Bernardo Silva.
41 min Kimmich’s deep, inswinging nook is headed away effectively by Ake, with De Ligt arriving simply behind him.
40 min Kimmich performs a great ball to launch Pavard, however his cross is overhit. Bayern retrieve possession and Coman wins a nook off Akanji.
39 min “You know what Rob,” says Edan Tal. “I would say that’s the best save I have ever seen.”
You’ve simply severely disrespected the Bing Gregory Coupet.
37 min De Bruyne beats Pavard with a beautiful dummy. Pavard recovers to foul De Bruyne, and is possibly a bit lucky to not be booked.
35 min Sommer misses the ensuing nook, with Haaland unable to show the ball on course from a really tight angle past the far submit. Then Bayern break and Kimmich has a low shot blocked by… Grealish.
I can’t sustain with this.
34 min: Amazing save from Sommer! This is wonderful drama. De Bruyne’s deflected cross from the precise bounces so awkwardly that Upamecano runs straight previous the ball at trhe close to submit. Sommer costs from his line to take it off Grealish’s head, however he can solely punch it straight to Gundogan, following up 10 yards out.
Gundogan hits a first-time volley in direction of aim, however Sommer – by now on the bottom and ostensibly out of the sport – stands proud his left leg to make a outstanding response save.
33 min We speak on a regular basis about superb margins and particulars, and the 90 seconds earlier than the City aim was one other instance. Jamal Musiala would have given Bayern the lead however for an excellent block from Ruben Dias. Moments later, Musiala was responsible of a barely woolly problem, however one that will have gone unpunished 49 instances out of fifty. This was the fiftieth.
33 min “Given there was a talk about tactical overthoughts, selling players at their peak or after it, former Dutch defenders that played for Man United and full-backs, I decided to melt it all into one,” says Admir Pajic. “One of the craziest tactical ideas that I can recall of was Roberto Mancini playing Jaap Stam as marauding RB at Lazio. The best part is, Stam didn’t look out of the place at all. You can only imagine how the opposite number felt when he saw the Dutch giant marauding down his side.”
Or simply marauding in direction of you full cease.
32 min De Bruyne’s cross in direction of Gundogan deflects in direction of Grealish on the left facet of the world. The angle is absolutely tight, so now he tries to seek out Gundogan with a reduce. Upamecano will get in entrance to clear.
31 min Coman has switched wings with Sane. That aim has energised City, who’re searching Bayern with even higher aggression than earlier than.
28 min Tuchel was fuming after the aim, I feel with Musiala’s barely half-arsed problem on Rodri. Even so, it was a monstrous end.
I’m unsure even Rodri can imagine this. He was discovered by a sq. cross Bernardo 25 yards from aim, with Musiala on his shoulder. Rodri turned away from him after which, with nothing else on, formed a wonderful left-footed roller that nestled within the far high nook. Pick that out.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Bayern (Rodri 27)
Rodri scores a screamer to place City forward – along with his left foot!
26 min: Great defending by Dias! Kimmich robs De Bruyne excessive up the sector and finds Sane. He evades Akanji, will get to the byline and cuts the ball again to Musiala, unmarked on the sting of the world. Musiala takes a contact and rifles a low shot that’s blocked by the outstretched proper leg of Dias. I’m fairly positive that was getting in as a result of Ederson was wrong-footed.
25 min Bayern preserve the ball for some time in City’s third. Eventually Kimmich clips an angled cross in direction of Pavard, who’s effectively tracked by Grealish and might solely slice the ball behind for a goalkick.
25 min More from John Ainsworth on the Manchester climate (see 15 min). “It sounds like,” begins John, “you have one of those southern TVs.”
24 min Coman tries to run Ake within the space, however Ake instances his problem beautifully.
22 min: Chance for Haaland! Lovely play by City. They win the ball excessive up the sector, with Gundogan threading a great, straight cross into Grealish on the sting of the world. He flicks it again outdoors to the unmarked Haaland, who sidefoots tamely straight at Sommer from the sting of the world. He had time to take a contact there.
21 min “At the risk of invoking Silvio Dante invoking Al Pacino, this is the sort of CL game that pulls you back in isn’t it?” says David Hopkins. “Yes it’s basically a lopsided magic money tree for the top clubs, but it’s also two monster teams going at it like billy-o!”
Yeah, properly put. Pretty a lot every part about trendy soccer is soul-crushing, aside from the precise soccer. And by that I don’t imply VAR or diving or timewasting, I imply the precise soccer. You know, the bit that matches my half-arsed narrative!
20 min A superb cross from De Bruyne is turned behind by Kimmich, stretching round his worldwide teammate Gundogan within the six-yard field. That was excellent defending.
19 min I’d say City have been barely the higher staff thus far, although there may be little or no in it. Both groups realise they’re on this for the lengthy haul.
17 min Sane has a shot blocked by Akanji after some affected person possession from Bayern.
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