Man City vs Copenhagen - LIVE!

Holders Manchester City cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen on Wednesday in their last-16 second leg, a 10th consecutive win in the competition that wrapped up a 6-2 aggregate triumph.

City, who started the game with a two-goal cushion, took care of business early with first-half goals by Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. Akanji scored with City's first chance, volleying in Alvarez's corner in the fifth minute. Alvarez scored his own four minutes later, thanks to calamitous goalkeeping by Kamil Grabara, who let the City forward's shot slip through his hands seconds after Rodri pinged an effort off the crossbar.

Former Southampton player Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled one back for the Danish champions but City's goal-scoring machine Haaland slotted home a low, hard shot through two defenders seconds before halftime, his 29th goal of the season across all competitions. City will find out their quarter-final opponents in the draw on March 15.

Man City vs Copenhagen latest news

• GOAL! Haaland extends aggregate lead

• GOAL! Elyounoussi pulls one back

• GOAL! Alvarez scores after goalkeeping error

• GOAL! Akanji gives City lead on the night

FT: Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:54 , Matt Verri

Comfortable night for City.

Job was done inside ten minutes, as they eased into a 2-0 lead on the night.

Copenhagen fairly impressive since then, held their own. But City were firmly on cruise control by then.

The Champions League holders are through to the quarter-finals.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:52 , Matt Verri

90+2 mins: Off the bar!

Great pass from Wright, Lewis is inches away from making it four for City. His effort bounces back off the woodwork, after taking a deflection.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:50 , Matt Verri

90 mins: Three minutes added on.

Hamilton drives into the box, space for the shot but he takes too long. Curling effort charged down.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:48 , Matt Verri

88 mins: At last. Wright is on.

Haaland the man to make way for the final couple of minutes.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:46 , Matt Verri

86 mins: Wright is waiting to come on for City - problem is they have kept the ball for two minutes already.

He will be desperate for someone to boot it out of play.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:43 , Matt Verri

83 mins: Cornelius finds Mattsson, who has been really good since coming on.

His shot is blocked, ball loops up and Cornelius goes in very high on Akanji. Yellow card.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:38 , Matt Verri

78 mins: Copenhagen playing some nice football, as they look for a goal in front of their supporters.

Mattsson’s shot is deflected behind for a corner. Ederson spills the ball in, but nobody there for Copenhagen to follow it up.

Eventually comes to Elyounoussi, who blasts over.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:35 , Matt Verri

75 mins: That is the end of Nunes’ night, as he walks off with his hand strapped on.

Hamilton, who was set to come on for Haaland, replaces Nunes instead.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:32 , Matt Verri

72 mins: Painful one here for Nunes.

Looks to have dislocated a finger... could do without a replay of that. On come the physios.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:28 , Matt Verri

68 mins: Dias off, Stones on for City.

Hojlund, brother of Rasmus, is on for the visitors, as he looks to make an impression in Manchester.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:26 , Matt Verri

66 mins: It’s.... not particularly thrilling right now.

Copenhagen try and change that, a brief break into City territory. Roony involved, through to Mattsson and it’s a strong hand from Ederson to deny him!

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:21 , Matt Verri

61 mins: Nunes has played out on the right for City tonight - hasn’t really happened for him.

A couple of bright runs, but he’s struggled to get involved. Coming in for Foden was always going to be a fairly difficult task.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:18 , Matt Verri

58 mins: Froholdt off for Copenhagen, Mattsson on.

And Roony is on too, having impressed against Manchester United earlier this season. He replaces Achouri.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:15 , Matt Verri

55 mins: City win a free-kick out wide, up come Dias and Akanji.

Good ball in from Alvarez, headed out to the edge of the area and Gomez’s shot is charged down.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:13 , Matt Verri

53 mins: Kovacic looks to drive through midfield, clipped and it’s a cheap free-kick.

Copenhagen are trying to press high, to be fair to them.

Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

21:09 , Matt Verri

49 mins: Almost an immediate chance for Copenhagen, as Ederson nearly plays it straight to Froholdt. He can’t quite take it in his path though.

We’ve quickly settled back into the usual pattern, aside from that. City keeping the ball with no desire to rush things.

Back underway!

21:05 , Matt Verri

Up and running for the second-half.

Gomez is on at half-time for City, replacing Rodri.

Nice moment for Copenhagen...

20:54 , Matt Verri

It’s been a fairly painful trip to Manchester so far for Copenhagen, but they have given their fans something to cheer about already.

Lovely goal.

HT: Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2)

20:51 , Matt Verri

That was the final kick of the half.

Haaland has his goal, City have three and they are cruising into the quarter-finals.

GOAL! Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (agg 6-2) | Erling Haaland 45+3'

20:49 , Matt Verri

There it is!

Rodri clips the ball over the top. Haaland brings it down, works it onto his left foot and drags a shot inside the near post.

Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2)

20:47 , Matt Verri

45+1 mins: Three minutes added on.

Copenhagen briefly attack down the left, but Elyounoussi overhits a pass and it rolls straight out of play.

Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2)

20:45 , Matt Verri

44 mins: It is very, very quiet inside the Etihad.

Not much pace to the match, City fans know the job is done. We’re going to need another light show...

Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2)

20:41 , Matt Verri

40 mins: More like it from City.

Haaland plays in Alvarez, tight angle and getting tighter as he is forced wide. Gets the shot away, blocked and Copenhagen can clear.

Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2)

20:38 , Matt Verri

37 mins: Start to this match was so easy for City, it was almost inevitable they would ease off.

All very slow at the moment, but they remain in complete control of the tie despite that good spell for Copenhagen.

Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2)

20:33 , Matt Verri

32 mins: Copenhagen firmly on the front foot since that goal, it’s given them a fair bit of confidence.

The away end is absolutely bouncing.

GOAL! Man City 2-1 Copenhagen (agg 5-2) | Mohamed Elyounoussi 29'

20:31 , Matt Verri

The comeback is on...

One down, three to go.

Lovely move too, backheel from Oskarsson and Elyounoussi is there to guide a finish into the far corner.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:29 , Matt Verri

27 mins: Stats say City have had about 75% of the ball so far - feel like that’s playing it down. Significantly.

Copenhagen fans making plenty of noise though, going to enjoy their night in the away end whatever happens.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:25 , Matt Verri

24 mins: Bobb is having a lovely time out there. Drifting all over the pitch, Copenhagen can’t get near him.

He skips to the byline, pulls the ball back but nobody there in a light blue shirt.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:22 , Matt Verri

21 mins: Corner for City. Both of their goals so far have come from corners.

Alvarez strolls over to take this one. Tries something clever, pass to Bobb is intercepted. Another corner coming up.

Swung in right on top of the goalkeeper, he tips it away! Poor Grabara, wearing a mask, is having a fairly miserable night.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:20 , Matt Verri

18 mins: Copenhagen are actually getting bodies forward on the rare occasions they touch the ball.

Maybe not the wisest plan at this point. City getting a lot of space.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:16 , Matt Verri

14 mins: This is a real mess from Copenhagen.

Nunes away down the right, he cuts it back but Haaland can’t get on the end of it for a tap-in.

Ball then swung in, Haaland slips just as he looked to be in.

Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1)

20:13 , Matt Verri

12 mins: Brief pause in play, Kovacic is down holding his chest.

Copenhagen boss calls his players over for a team talk. Going to have to be something fairly inspirational...

GOAL! Man City 2-0 Copenhagen (agg 5-1) | Julian Alvarez 9'

20:11 , Matt Verri

Disastrous!

Bobb drives into the box, makes space for the shot and his shot is wel blocked. Corner.

Ball swung to the back post, Rodri’s header is off the bar!

Cleared out to Alvarez, he whips a cross in straight at the goalkeeper... straight through the goalkeeper!

Man City 1-0 Copenhagen (agg 4-1)

20:08 , Matt Verri

7 mins: We haven’t played seven minutes yet and you already fear for Copenhagen.

City have made seven changes but they still look capable of cutting the visitors open at will.

GOAL! Man City 1-0 Copenhagen (agg 4-1) | Manuel Akanji 5'

20:06 , Matt Verri

Here we go!

Corner swung in, Akanji in space and he volleys a lovely finish into the top corner. Far too easy.

Man City 0-0 Copenhagen (agg 3-1)

20:04 , Matt Verri

3 mins: You will be stunned to hear Copenhagen have barely had a kick in the opening three minutes.

City knocking the ball around with all the patience in the world, for a change.

KICK-OFF!

20:01 , Matt Verri

We’re up and running!

Here we go!

19:56 , Matt Verri

Teams are in the tunnel.

Music blaring out at the Etihad, full light show. All a bit unnecessary....

Pre-match thoughts from the Copenhagen boss

19:50 , Matt Verri

"We know we are 3-1 down, playing the best team in the world," Jacob Neestrup says.

"It is close to impossible but we will be ready for this and will try our absolute best for Danish football.

"We might not be able to get through but it makes a massive difference if we put in a good performance rather than completely fold. It might be a miracle but we have to chase it."

Previous meeting at the Etihad...

19:43 , Matt Verri

Last time these two sides met in Manchester, it was very much a one-sided affair.

Erling Haaland scored twice, City won 5-0... you would not rule out more of the same tonight.

Doku absence explained

19:38 , Matt Verri

Pep Guardiola has been asked about Jeremy Doku’s absence from the squad.

“Some niggles,” he tells TNT Sports.

“Muscular. We don’t want to take a risk.”

Neestrup realistic about Copenhagen chances

19:28 , Matt Verri

Copenhagen manager Jacob Neestrup was in a very honest mood at his press conference yesterday, admitting that his side are just trying to be “a little bit closer” to Man City tonight.

"It is simple - Manchester City right now is a better team,” Neestrup said.

"We played three very good clubs in the group stage but this is a level or two up.

"When you play against an opponent that is that good, the demands to us is to get as close as possible to our expressions as a team on the pitch is way more difficult.

"The best case for us tomorrow is that we are a little bit closer than we were three weeks ago, when we deserved to lose at the Parken Stadium but performance wise we would have liked to be closer to ourselves."

Champions League round-up

19:21 , Matt Verri

PSG and Bayern Munich both booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals last night, after easing through their last-16 ties.

Man City will be confident of joining them, as will Real Madrid, who face RB Leipzig tonight at home with a 1-0 aggregate lead.

Next week, Arsenal must overcome a first-leg deficit as they take on Porto, while it’s 1-1 between Barcelona and Napoli at the halfway stage.

The last-16 action comes to an end when Dortmund host PSV, with that tie also 1-1 on aggregate, and Inter travel to face Atletico Madrid with a narrow 1-0 advantage.

In the building!

19:13 , Matt Verri

The hosts have arrived at the Etihad...

Haaland addresses Real Madrid links

19:05 , Matt Verri

Erling Haaland has refused to rule out one day moving to Real Madrid, but insists he remains “really happy” at Manchester City.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is expected to join Los Blancos as a free agent in the summer, but Real remain long-time admirers of 23-year-old Haaland too.

When asked whether he feels he can fulfil his career aspirations at City, Haaland told reporters this week: “I’m really happy, especially with the people that I’m surrounded with — the manager, the directors, the board.

“They are a group of amazing people and I’m really happy, I have to say.

“If I say this now it’s probably going to be a massive headline, [but] tomorrow you never know what the future brings.

“But I’m happy. You can write this, but you also have to write everything I said before. I’m happy.”

Copenhagen team news

18:58 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Grabara, Diks, Vavro, Elyounoussi, Oskarsson, Jelert, Ankersen, McKenna, Achouri, Clem, Froholdt

Subs: Runarsson, Buur, Sorensen, Mattsson, Larsson, Cornelius, Boilesen, Meling, Hojlund, Roony

Man City team news

18:51 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, Bobb, Alvarez, Nunes, Haaland

Subs: Ortega, Carson, Walker, Stones, Ake, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Gomez, Foden, Wright, Susoho, Hamilton

Copenhagen need a miracle...

18:43 , Matt Verri

Man City have not lost at home in the Champions League since 2018.

It’s a remarkable record, and they have not been beaten at home in any competition since the end of 2022.

Copenhagen not only have to beat City, but must do so by a two-goal margin just to force extra-time.

Best of luck.

Guardiola: We still need to perform

18:27 , Matt Verri

Pep Guardiola has warned his side against being complacent tonight, insisting he still has “concern” despite his side taking a 3-1 aggregate lead into the second leg.

“My concern is always there,” Guardiola said. “Otherwise I would not be here, but I prefer to start 3-1 up rather than 0-1 down.

“I would like us to be ahead 7-0, but that normally doesn’t happen in the Champions League. I want us to perform the way we have to do.

“Red cards or bad decisions can happen in football. If we conceded another goal in the group stages, we are second in the table and the draw would have been Real Madrid not Copenhagen.

“In football the details make the difference. Prepare well, mentally and read what they have to do.”

Copenhagen have travelled in numbers!

18:13 , Matt Verri

There will be plenty of noise coming from the away end tonight...

How the first leg played out...

18:04 , Matt Verri

Copenhagen did a good job of keeping themselves in the match a couple of weeks ago, until stoppage-time.

It was their first game for two months, after a winter break, and they were at least within touching distance, but Phil Foden struck late on to give City complete control of the tie.

Standard Sport prediction

17:56 , Matt Verri

It would be a huge shock to see City throw such a healthy lead away, even with rotation in mind.

The defence has not been hugely convincing in recent weeks, raising the possibility of goals at both ends.

Man City to win, 2-1 (agg 5-2)

Copenhagen team news

17:49 , Matt Verri

For the visitors, Lukas Lerager is expected to sit out due to injury despite now being free of suspension.

Theo Sander, Davit Khocholava and Viktor Claesson may also miss the game, with Emil Hojlund a doubt too.

Man City team news

17:42 , Matt Verri

Manchester City could put out a rotated team for tonight’s Champions League return leg.

Only Jack Grealish is a confirmed absentee for the holders but Sunday’s looming title showdown with Liverpool could see a number of regular starters rested.

The forward's groin injury is expected to rule him out for the majority of the month.

Josko Gvardiol is fit again and was included in the matchday squad for the win over Manchester United, so could start to give Nathan Ake a rest. Manuel Akanji could also come in.

Predicted Man City XI: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Rodri; Silva, Alvarez, Bobb; Haaland

How to watch Man City vs Copenhagen

17:35 , Matt Verri

TV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate. Coverage starts at 7.30pm GMT ahead of an 8pm kick-off.

Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Discovery+ website or app.

Live blog: Follow all the action LIVE right here with us!

Good evening!

17:30 , Matt Verri

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Man City vs Copenhagen!

The Champions League holders have a 3-1 lead on aggregate after the first leg of the last-16 tie in Denmark, and are expected to complete the job tonight with minimal fuss tonight.

We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 8pm GMT from the Etihad Stadium.