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By Martin Graham | 12th Apr 2023
Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva were the two standout stars for Manchester City in their 3 – 0 first leg defeat of Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter final clash on Tuesday.
Bayern have been unable to get past the hurdle of Manchester City anytime they visit the Etihad. The Cityzens remain the only Premier League side that can hold the German giants at bay. They had never met in the knockout rounds of any competition, much less Europe’s premier cup competition but City proved that it made no difference.
It was total domination for the hosts from start to finish. Spanish midfielder Rodri began the rout in the 27th minute with a beautiful left-footer curler from 27 yards out. Bayern pressed for an equaliser but were met by a strong City resistance. City’s attack, meanwhile, continued to trouble the visitors’ defence. The onslaught was led by Silva and Haaland, who both had opportunities to score and assist more times than they ended up doing.
Haaland turned creator in the 70th minute for Silva for City’s second and six minutes later, got on the scoresheet himself to wrap up the game for the Premier League defending champions. It is his first ever win against the Bavarians in eight games, despite a respectable six goals and two assists record against them.
Haaland’s goal also saw him break another Premier League record. It was his 45th goal of the season in 39 games to surpass Mohamed Salah and Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s tallies of 44 in a season.
Both Salah and Van Nistelrooy scored 44 goals each in 52 games. This means that Haaland’s record of 45 goals in 39 not only breaks their record, but sets a new, almost unattainable one.
Guardiola was full of praise for both players. The former Bayern boss had special praise for Silva one of the best players he’s ever worked with.
The Spanish tactician praised Silva, who played on the right wing for this tie, for his versatility and ability to read the game, while counting himself lucky to have the privilege of coaching the Portugal international.
“Bernardo is a football player,” said Guardiola.
“What does it mean? He will play everywhere, every position, even left back, everywhere because he understands the game in every action Bernardo has the ability to read the game.
“But Bernardo is such an important player, especially in these type of games, he can play holding midfield, he can play false nine. We need this type of player. And lately he has scored a lot of goals. Always he lacked that a little bit.
“He is a player if you say play in this position, you don’t have to say anything else, he understands everything. Understands everything. From my point of view, I was lucky as a manager to have incredible, outstanding players at Barcelona and Munich.
“He is one of the best players I ever trained in my life. Ever. He is something special, a special football player.”
Manchester City return to Premier League action on Saturday against struggling Leicester City before they travel to Germany to officially seal their ticket to the Champions League semi-finals next week.
Martin Graham is an MFF sports writer
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