Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and had a hand in two more as Manchester City resumed its quest to retain the Champions League title with a 3-1 win at FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Only a careless mistake from goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, which led to Copenhagen’s equalizer in the 34th minute, prevented City from taking an even more commanding lead into the second leg in Manchester in three weeks.
De Bruyne is often City’s man for the big occasion, and he delivered again at the start of the knockout stage, driving home the opening goal at atmospheric Parken Stadium in the 10th minute after running onto Phil Foden’s pass on the right side of the area.
Copenhagen, without a competitive match in two months because of the Danish league’s midseason break, was outplayed in the first half — by the 20th minute, City had enjoyed 85% possession — but still managed to pull level in the 34th after Ederson’s pass out from his area went astray.
It was intercepted by Mohamed Elyounoussi, whose shot was blocked by City defender Ruben Dias. The ball flew toward Copenhagen midfielder Magnus Mattsson, who curled home a first-time shot from edge of the area in a memorable way to mark not only his Copenhagen debut but his first ever Champions League game.
City retook the lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. While the build-up wasn’t pretty, the finish from Bernardo Silva certainly was.
De Bruyne overran the ball and lunged to make a tackle, inadvertently sending the ball flying into the path of Silva in the area. As the goalkeeper came out, Silva deftly flicked the ball with his left foot up and into the far corner.
The build-up to the third goal in second-half stoppage time was much easier on the eye and again it involved De Bruyne, who ran onto Foden’s pass down the inside right channel and cut the ball back to the England midfielder, who slotted home.
It sealed an 11th straight win for City in all competitions.
There was a huge gulf in quality between the English and European champions and a team playing in the Champions League’s round of 16 for only the second time — and the first time since 2010-11.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
UEFA Champions League
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