An easy task for Man City…and Leipzig dreams of a comeback against Real Madrid

Leipzig wants to be Real Madrid’s “toughest opponent” when it visits them, trying to make up for a goal deficit on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, while Manchester City, the defending champion, appears to be in a comfortable position when it hosts Copenhagen of Denmark.

In the absence of his young English star, Jude Bellingham, his replacement, Brahim Diaz, scored a wonderful goal last February 14, giving the record holder in the number of titles (14) a 1-0 advantage.

But Leipzig was not an easy prey, as Real Madrid’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin played a role in saving Real, repelling nine dangerous attempts, and the experience of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti’s players played its role.

The seasoned coach, whose team did not lose in 11 continental matches at home (10 wins and a draw), said: “This is a small progress. None of us imagined that the result would be decided (in the first leg). It was a good result, but 90 minutes remain in our stadium.”

Veteran German midfielder Toni Kroos, whose team equaled the best start in its history in the competition with 7 consecutive victories, added: “An individual effort decided the match. I must be honest, the match almost went the other way.”

But Real’s results have seemed volatile recently, with 3 draws in 5 matches, the last of which was against Valencia 2-2 on Saturday, which prevented them from rising further in the local league, as they lead by 7 points over Girona and 8 ahead of their rival Barcelona.

“Merengue” has begun to recover some of its injured players, and Ancelotti expects Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Brazilian defender Eder Militao to recover next month.

On the other hand, Leipzig coach Mark Rose said: “The scenario could have been better before the second leg, but we will try to give everything in Madrid. We want to be the toughest opponent possible for Madrid.”

His veteran Hungarian goalkeeper, Peter Gulacsi, regretted Diaz’s goal: “A lucky shot decided the match. We played well and of course we were not the worst team.”

Leipzig, led by its Belgian striker Luis Openda, who scored 4 goals in 6 matches in the group stage, hopes to repeat its tumultuous comeback against Bochum on Saturday in the local league (4-1), where it occupies fifth place.

The quarter-finals are called by City

At the same time, City, the winner of 15 of its last 16 matches in various competitions, welcomes Danish Copenhagen after overturning a deficit against them at home to win (3-1), with goals from the Belgian star of the match, Kevin De Bruyne (one goal and two assists), the Portuguese. Bernardo Silva, and the brilliant Phil Foden.

Foden gave an impressive performance on Sunday and led the Citizens to victory over its neighbor United (3-1) by scoring a brace, including a wonderful shot from the edge of the area.

His wonderful performance prompted his Spanish coach, Pep Guardiola, to describe him as “the best player currently in the English Premier League,” as the Emirati-owned team maintained a point difference with leaders Liverpool.

Guardiola said about the 23-year-old, who scored 18 goals in various competitions this season, “What can I say? He is the best player in the English Premier League right now, given the things he is doing. It is unbelievable. He is the best so far.”

“I always felt that he would score goals, but now he is achieving victories. He is a world-class player. He lives for football, but now he is achieving,” Guardiola continued before defeating Liverpool, leaders of the league, next Sunday, and then facing Newcastle in the cup quarter-finals, and Arsenal, third in the 30th round of the league. “Victories.”

City won its two home matches against Copenhagen, the last with a landslide score (5-0) in October 2022.

Copenhagen’s Slovakian defender Denis Favreau said: “We will look for a draw or maybe a win (in Manchester).”

His coach, Jacob Nystrup, added, “I cannot blame (the players) for anything. We played against a big team. They have solutions in every situation. We got into their rhythm and started running after them, and this made things difficult for us.”