Rodri's Goal Stuns Fans as Manchester City Top Bayern Munich in 2023 UCL QF Leg 1
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVApril 11, 2023
Manchester City inched closer to the Champions League title it has coveted for years with a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash on Tuesday.
An impressive strike from Rodri got City on the board in the 27th minute:
The Spanish midfielder had a total of 15 goals in 193 appearances across all competitions in his Manchester City career entering Tuesday. Fans certainly weren't expecting him to unleash such a venomous strike, with his weaker foot no less.
Statman Dave @StatmanDaveRodri's first half by numbers vs. Bayern Munich:<br><br>90% pass accuracy<br>7 ground duels won<br>4 tackles won<br>2/2 dribbles completed<br>1/1 long ball completed<br>1 interception<br>1 goal<br><br>Pick that one out. 🚀 <a href="https://t.co/MEhvv8vElI">pic.twitter.com/MEhvv8vElI</a>
Mike Minay @MikeMinayThat was a beauty from Rodri. Beautiful. Haaland might be jealous. <br><br>You don't stop that. <br><br>If you search top bins in the dictionary, Rodri is the definition. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ManCity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ManCity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MCFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MCFC</a>
Manchester City used its press to force Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano into a mistake for its second tally. Erling Haaland's cross found the head of Bernardo Silva, who doubled his club's lead in the 70th minute. Seven minutes later, Haaland got himself in position for a typically straightforward finish.
Manchester City @ManCity.<a href="https://twitter.com/ErlingHaaland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ErlingHaaland</a> sets a new record for goals scored by a <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@premierleague</a> player in all competitions! ✨ <a href="https://t.co/AHiRhRzbJL">pic.twitter.com/AHiRhRzbJL</a>
In general, it wasn't a dominant performance by Pep Guardiola's side from start to finish. The way in which Manchester City put the screws to Bayern in the second half sent quite the message, though.
A one-goal deficit against the reigning English champion was somewhat manageable. Even going two goals down wasn't the end of the world. But Bayern Munich's hopes of advancing to the semifinals unraveled in short order.
Bayern will host the second leg on April 19, but the tie might be academic at this point. Scoring three goals will be difficult enough. Manager Thomas Tuchel will have to find a way for his players to put their foot on the gas without being carved open by Manchester City on the counterattack.
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