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Manchester City confidently made it into the round of 16 of the Champions League and RB Leipzig did too.
The defending champions had an easy game with Young Boys Bern in their 3-0 home win on Tuesday and once again celebrated Erling Haaland.
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After his brace, the Norwegian’s goal record in the premier class is only a matter of time. There was also joy in Leipzig with their early promotion and in Dortmund, who withstood the rebuff from Bayern.
“The first step has been taken”
Haaland took the lead with a penalty (23rd) and, after a Foden goal (45th + 1), finished the game with a hard-hitting shot from 20 meters in the 51st minute. “That was a fantastic goal,” said City coach Pep Guardiola and was generally pleased with his team’s performance. “Really impressed. The first step has been taken,” said Guardiola.
The former Salzburg legionnaire Haaland, Austria’s Footballer of the Year in 2019, has 39 goals after 34 games in the Champions League and will probably reach the 40-goal mark faster than any professional before him. The record is currently held by the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who needed 45 games to score 40 goals.
Schlager as a template provider
There was also a lot of praise from Leipzig coach Marco Rose. The Red Bull Club qualified for the round of 16 of the premier class for the fourth time with a 2-1 away win at Red Star Belgrade, but for the first time not in the last group game. ÖFB team player Xaver Schlager prepared the two goals from Xavi Simons (8th) and Lois Openda (77th) and thus recorded his first assists in the Champions League.
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“We only have one currency and that is results and victories. They really performed well, I saw a confident team that wanted to play football. In the end we fought, that’s part of it,” explained Rose. For Red Star, which like the Young Boys is holding on to one point, it’s all about third place in Bern at the end of November and moving to the Europa League.
“If we play like we did today, we will lose there too. We have to improve, not just talk about it,” demanded Vienna captain Aleksandar Dragovic.
Change of mood in Dortmund
In Dortmund, after three dark days, the smile returned. The 2-0 win over Newcastle United with a strong Marcel Sabitzer initially dispelled the fear that the disgrace from the league summit against Bayern could have lasting effects for a long time. The bitter 0:4 on Saturday was followed by an astonishing reaction and the league lead in the strong Group F with Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan (1:2) as other opponents.
“We know that we couldn’t make up for what happened on Saturday with a game in the Champions League. It was about drawing the right conclusions. We can be very happy with the team’s reaction,” explained coach Edin Terzic.
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Julian Brandt also made similar comments. “I’m very pleased that we didn’t fall into a hole and ruin a lot of things this season due to a bad phase,” said the goalscorer, who was voted “Man of the Match”. They now want to build on the success in Newcastle in the league, in which the guest appearance against their neighbors Stuttgart, who have the same points in the table, is coming up. “It’s about continuing where we left off today,” emphasized Terzic.
Pepe replaced Totti
In addition to Paris SG, FC Barcelona also disappointed, who missed their first chance for promotion with a 0-1 defeat in Hamburg against FC Barcelona, but are still at the top of Group H ahead of FC Porto with the same points.
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In Porto’s 2-0 home win against Royal Antwerp, Portuguese defender Pepe became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history. The oldest outfield player ever used in the Champions League scored the final score in stoppage time and set the next age record at 40 years and 254 days.
He replaced the Italian Francesco Totti, who scored for AS Roma in 2014 at the age of 38 years and 59 days.
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
