Matchday Live: Manchester City versus Borussia Monchengladbach

Words and Editorial: Luke James

Final Thoughts and Goodnight!

Manchester City (4) 2-0 (0) Borussia Monchengladbach

City: Kevin De Bruyne '12; Ilkay Gundogan '17

The outcome of this match was never in doubt - especially after City doubled their aggregate lead twenty minutes into the second leg.

Kevin De Bruyne is my pick for MOTM. The Belgian midfielder was everywhere - both in and out of possession. His first half goal was a delight - but there is so much more to his game.

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Luke James signing-off, goodnight!

Full-Time: CITY PROGRESS TO QUARTER-FINAL

Game. Set. Match.

After two first half goals, City stroll into the last eight of the Champions League.

Marco Rose's Gladbach were firmly second best, and can now focus all of their energy on the Bundesliga. They're now ten games without a win. Tough times.

Mitchell and Ben's MOTM verdicts are in.

MOTM?

As we edge towards the end of this blog, I'll ask one final question. Who is your man of the match?

I'll share my pick in a couple of minutes. Clue: they're wearing white shorts.

SUB: BMG

Update: there was no glimmer of hope.

GOAL.. not in Budapest.

A tiny glimmer of hope for Atalanta?

82:35 - The size of the gap between City and Gladbach is striking, especially for a game in the Champions League round of sixteen.

If KDB and Co. weren't already contenders, they are now.

CLUB STATEMENT:

I've stumbled across a corner flag picture, so here's an announcement.

As a result of our exec elections, Sam Matthews Boehmer will be taking over as Sport Editor on Saturday. He'll smash it.

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City's XI?

We have an update from Mitchell...

SUB: Aguero for Silva

71:00 - There hasn't been too much to report of late - but this picture has left me thinking about poor old Marco Rose.

He's joining Dortmund in the summer. Since his move was announced, Gladbach have endured a nine-game win-less streak.

A defeat today will stretch that run to ten.

Should clubs ever announce prospective coaching changes mid-season?

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City's Best XI:

Mitchell and Ben are carrying this thread, thank you!

They both have an answer to the City best XI question...

For the record, I would say:

Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Rodrigo, KDB, Gundogan; Sterling, Foden, Silva.

SUB: Zinchenko for Cancelo

SUB: Fernandinho for Rodrigo

Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta (3-0 AGG)

A couple of minutes after this, Sergio Ramos scored from the penalty spot. Job done?

City's Best XI?

With the outcome of this game all but settled, BT's commentary duo have just raised the idea that Pep Guardiola might start playing his strongest XI more often.

My question, to you, is simple:

What is City's best eleven?

Ederson in midfield? Martin Keown has just suggested it. Yes. Really.

STRETCHHHHHH!

Yann Sommer has been busy this evening; a calming influence for Rose's team so far.

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54:30 - Joao Cancelo is in the book for a high tackle in central midfield. The referee, who was yards away from the incident, had no choice in the matter.

Gladbach now have a corner, their first.

Second Half: City 2-0 Gladbach

We're back underway in Budapest - will this guy bag another goal in the second half?

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Haaland? Maybe.

While you're here...

I had the privilege of interviewing Aaron Murphy today!

Murph is Free/Premier Sports play-by-play commentator for ice hockey. We spoke about his career, the NHL, and the sport in the UK. The podcast is available on all platforms:

Half-Time: City 2-0 Gladbach (4-0 AGG)

A very, very impressive performance from the hosts.

Guardiola, often accused of overthinking matches in the Champions League, has got his tactics spot on this evening, albeit against a side in free-fall since Rose's move to Dortmund was announced.

Stats: City - Gladbach

Possession: 69 v 31

Shots: 4 v 4

On Target: 4 v 3

Corners: 4 v 1

Fouls 0 v 4

Strikerless City II:

Another interesting point, this time from Boar Sport writer Ben Northcott.

A question to you all, should City try to sign Erling Haaland this summer?

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40:00 - EMBOLO GOES CLOSE!

The Swiss forward carved out a decent chance for himself along the left side of the penalty area, leaving Ederson flatfooted in the City net.

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Close.

39:11 - Not much as changed in Budapest; Real Madrid, however, have scored a vital goal in their tie against Atalanta.

Luka Modric pounced on a loose pass, feeding Karim Benzema to give Real Madrid a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Half-Time Reading:

With ten minutes remaining this half, allow me to recommend one of the articles we uploaded today.

Mitchell (see below) wrote about Sergio Aguero's place in Manchester City's plans. Will the Argentine be at the Etihad next season?

Strikerless City?

An interesting point/question from Mitchell.

I have two answers to the same question on this.

No, City do not need a striker in situations like this. If Pep is able to get the best out of his squad using a fluid system; that's how City should start.

Should City continue to invest in forwards? Yes. Some situations call for a classic #9 (or at least something close to one).

Speaking of City strikers, let me shout out an article....

ICYMI: City doubled their aggregate lead through German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. It was the archetypal City goal, with nice play through the midfield.

Breel Embolo has been Gladbach's brightest spark. Unfortaunetly for the Swiss forward, his teammates are struggling to break through City's press.

27:13 - I'm sure we've all had tweet regret, haven't we?

24:00 A quick-fire double for City. Nice finish, Ilkay.

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GOAL! Ilkay Gundogan scores! 4-0.

With 17 minutes on the clock, Phil Foden received the ball on the half-turn on the halfway line.

The Englishman looked up, saw the Gundogan rushing beyond the away side's defence... the rest is history.

A bouncing finish beats Yann Sommer.

This has the feel of a game that is already over.

17:00 - As the game continues, Mitchell Ryan has raised an interesting point. That was another weak-foot goal for De Bruyne.

Does the Belgian midfielder really have a week foot? I have my doubts.

GOAL! KEVIN DE BRUYNE SCORES!

A sweet, sweet strike on 12 minutes sees City gain a three-goal margin. Vintage KDB from outside the box.

A 3-1 win on the night would see Gladbach win on away goals. It feels unlikely.

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11:00 - As ever, Guardiola's side have set-up with incredible fluidity. Phil Foden tends to be City's most advanced central player - but Mahrez and Gundogan are also in the mix.

08:00 - Breel Emobolo has just forced a save from Ederson, with the City goalie tipping the ball around his right post.

A busy start to the game, with both sides creating chances.

Meanwhile in Madrid... (19:56 GMT)

Real Madrid enter the second leg of their last sixteen tie 1-0 ahead of Italian side Atalanta.

Eden Hazard, who joined Real at the start of last season, is unavailble through injury; Zinedine Zidane says he "can't explain" Eden Hazard's latest injury setback.

"Something's up, because he was never injured in his entire career [before joining Real] or there were very few injuries. We want to help him and hope he's back as soon as possible," said Zidane.

"They're things that I can't explain. I want to be positive and hope that it's not too much of a problem.

"We're going to try and figure out why it's happening but right now we can't explain it."

The line-ups are in! (19:00 GMT).

It's a strong line-up for today's hosts, Pep is taking this one seriously. Not that it matters with how fluid City play... but the Manchester side have gone without an out-and-out forward tonight.

Fluid.

Breel Embolo, mewahile, leads the line for the visitors. Gladbach are seeting to overturn a two-goal deficit this evening.

The Boar Sport Podcast (12:30 GMT):

At the start of the month, The Boar Sport Podcast featured an hour-length discussion about the race to qualify for the Champions League.

The show is available to stream on all platforms and is the perfect warmup act for tonight's game.

Pre-Match Press Conferences (12:00 GMT):

Yesterday, Pep Guardiola and Marco Rose spoke to journalists about this evening's fixture. Like the first leg, tonight's match will be held in Budapest due to coronavirus regulations in Germany.

Guardiola was keen to calm talk of City winning a potential quadruple, stressing that a number of important matches remain between now and the end of the season.

"Four titles has never happened before and I don’t think it will happen this season with the situation. The only thing to think about is this game and then Everton," Guardiola said.

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"I don’t know what will happen at the end of the season, but normally, it does not happen.

"Right now (this City team) is worse than the previous ones because the other ones won a lot and this team hasn’t won anything.

"We are validated for the trophies we can win, especially from the outside. The previous teams won. This team has to prove it."

Rose admitted that it would be "sensational" if Gladbach were able to overturn their two-goal deficit.

"It would be more than extraordinary, it would be a sensation," Rose said. Pep has them playing almost Total Football.

"We don't want to give the impression that this is a friendly. It's a Champions League game where we have a chance of reaching the next round, but we have to be realistic," Rose said.

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"We want to put in a good performance and then come home and concentrate on our essential tasks.

"Of course the City game is important to us. On the other hand, if I had said that I have full confidence that we can go there and turn it around, then everyone would have shaken their head and said Rose has lost his marbles."

Tale of the Tape (10:00 GMT):

Leg One: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City return to action this evening; they face Borussia Monchengladbach in the second leg of their Champions League round of sixteen tie.

The sides met in the first leg on 24 February, with City securing a 2-0 over their German opponents in Budapest, Hungary. Portuguese attacking midfielder Bernando Silva opened the scoring for City on 29 minutes, with Gabriel Jesus doubling their lead after the break.

City dominated Marco Rose's side, limiting Gladbach to one shot on target and just 39 percent of the possession.

After the match, Guardiola told BT Sport that his side had to improve in front of goal.

"In general, we controlled the game. Unfortunately we were not clinical enough up front.

"That is something we have to improve in this competition. Up front we have to be more clinical. In this competition you have to be perfect to make sure you go through."

Borussia Monchengladbach:

Rose, who is set to take over as Borussia Dortmund head coach at the end of the season, has seen his side struggle of late, with the German outfit winless over their last nine games.

Gladbach's form has seen them fall out of the race for a place in next season's Champions League.

Die Fohlen's last victory came on 3 February in the DFB Pokal, when they beat VfB Stuttgart 2-1 to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Manchester City:

City, meanwhile, are in fine form heading into tonight's clash, having lost just once in their last 24 matches.

Guardiola's side secured a 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday, a result that saw them reach 71 points in the Premier League.

The result saw Argentine striker Sergio Aguero return to the scoresheet, albeit from the penalty spot. The former Atletico Madrid forward is in the final six months of his contract at the Etihad and is expected to leave the club in the summer.

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