– There is a class difference between the teams, you can see that. You also see that City have two extra gears in their game that we are missing. Whether it is because they are in season and we are not, I don’t know, says FCK’s Moi Elyounoussi to NRK after the game on Tuesday evening.
Manchester City finally deservedly won 3-1 at the Park after being the best from start to finish.
Thus, they have roughly both legs in the Mesterliga quarter-finals already.
See the goals from the match here:
See the highlights from FCK-City in Kveldsnytt here.
Heard Guardiola: – More and more frustrated
The statistics speak for themselves. FCK had only 25 percent possession of the ball in their own playground and did not create any other dangers than the blunder from Ederson that ended with the 1-1 score.
Mohamed Elyounoussi tells TV 2 that the simple goal before the break gave them renewed faith that it would be possible to get a result against the City stars.
And from the sidelines he noticed an increasingly dejected City manager.
– I could hear Guardiola on the side who was getting more and more frustrated. But then we conceded a goal at the worst time, says Moi to TV 2.
– Was it nice to hear Pep get pissed off? asks the channel.
– Yes, then we know we are doing something right, replies the Norwegian.
HAPPY: Pep Guardiola is very happy with his own players.
Photo: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP
Pep Guardiola himself is delighted with what he saw of his players in the Danish capital on Tuesday evening.
– It was important not to lose here. The match was played very, very well from the first minute. We conceded a goal, but that happens sometimes. In the second half they played with five at the back, but overall we did well, he says according to the BBC.
Amazed by City
FC Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup was surprised by City – but it wasn’t the individual players who impressed him the most.
– Everyone talks about the talented players at City, I can understand that, but they are a strong team. They are well organized and work hard. Crazy hard. There are no sloppy attitudes on that team, they work and play according to the plan that has been laid out. It is a great inspiration, he says to NRK.
– Did you notice that Guardiola hadDid they take any steps to get you out of your usual style?
– No, you have to ask him about that. I think they just showed that they are a better team than us.
GOALLESS: Erling Braut Haaland came close towards the end of the match, but the ball did not want to hit the goal.
Photo: AFP
Goalless Haaland
Erling Braut Haaland, on the other hand, was scoreless both on and off the pitch. He did not score in Tuesday’s game, although he had a solid double chance towards the end of the match.
After the match, he walked straight past NRK and the other media in the press zone in Copenhagen without saying a peep.
FCK is in the winter break in the Danish league and has not played a meaningful game since 12 December last year.
FC Copenhagen profiler Viktor Claesson thinks that may have influenced them against City, who are in the middle of the season.
– We had a tough time in the first 10-15 minutes with the pace they set. We come straight from “pre season” and are not really in the game, but after that I think we are more involved and get 1-1 as well. We continue with that feeling, but they get boring goals towards the end of the first and second half, says Claesson to NRK.
– What do you think is possible to achieve in the return match in Manchester?
– We are probably not favorites in that match. But we have to swallow this first, then we have to charge up for that match eventually, he replies.
– Gross misfit
City dominated at times completely in the first round of 16 against FC Copenhagen and led 1–0 after half an hour had been played, but then City goalkeeper Ederson served a gift package to Elyounoussi in particular.
– I read a pass, he is trying to play Nathan Aké, I think. Then I try to put it between the legs of Dias, that was it. So it’s a bit lucky, but Matsson shows that he has a good shot, so we probably score out of nowhere, says the Norwegian to NRK.
For the ball ended up with Magnus Matsson, who equalized at 1–1 for the home team.
– Ederson is considered to be among the best goalkeepers in the world with the ball at his feet, but here he makes a mistake. Then FCK punishes them brutally. It’s a gross mistake, says TV 2 expert Morten Langli.
Expert and former Premier League profiler Tim Sherwood is very critical of the City goalkeeper’s performance.
– Why does he do something like that? He has barely touched the ball, and Pep Guardiola is probably completely fed up with his goalkeeper there. Ederson must have been bored after having little to do and suddenly wanted to entertain himself. He cost his team a late goal, says Sherwood according to Sky Sports.
City responded to make it 2-1 just before the break, but the Danes held on well. Nevertheless, the hope for advancement was greatly reduced when Phil Foden made it 3–1 in overtime.
DOMINANCE: Erling Braut Haaland and Manchester City were in complete control in Denmark when they beat FC Copenhagen.
Photo: Reuters
FCK has a habit of catching up with big teams in the Park: this autumn, the Danes secured promotion with home victories against Manchester United and Galatasaray.
Since 2006, the home statistics for FCK in the Champions League are as follows: Eight series, eight draws and two losses.
FC Copenhagen’s history in the Champions League since 06/07
Expand/minimize fact box
2023/24:
1-2 loss against Bayern
4-3 win against Manchester United
1-0 win against Galatasaray
2022/23:
0-0 against Manchester City
0-0 against Sevilla
1-1 against Borussia Dortmund
2016/17:
0-0 against Leicester
0-0 against Porto
4-0 win against Club Brugge
2013/14:
0-2 loss against Real Madrid
1-0 win against Galatasaray
1-1 against Juventus
2010/11:
1-0 win against Rubin Kazan
3-1 win against Panathinaikos
1-1 against Barcelona
2006/07:
0-0 mot Benfica
3-1 win against Celtic
1-0 win against Manchester United
Former Stabæk player Yaw Ihle Amankwah wrote on X that for a long time it looked like a formation session out on the Parken grass. Such a cowardly team that FCK should be allowed to trade in an extra player, hit TV 2 colleague Jesper Mathisen fast.
The large class difference was also pointed out by expert Sherwood.
– These are two teams that do not match hvary technically. This is the Premier League against the Championship, was the verdict from Sherwood at half-time according to Sky Sports.
– We went in with great faith that we can cause trouble, but you noticed that you were a bit rusty and lacked sharpness in front of goal, explains Elyounoussi.
The Norwegian winger reveals that he has been struggling with illness for the past week.
– I have struggled a bit with breathing, with getting enough oxygen in when you have taken a sprint. That is typically the case when there are important matches, he says.
WIN: Erling Braut Haaland’s Manchester City won. But Haaland did not score a goal.
Photo: AFP
Pep broke the streak
It was easy to see that this was a special evening for the people of Copenhagen. Already more than an hour before the start of the match, it was full and there was loud singing from the short side that houses the FCK supporters.
This was Pep Guardiola’s fourth visit to the Park as a player or coach, but only his first victory. The first time, in 1993, he lost 0–1 against Denmark as a Spain player. Then it ended 1–1 in the famous duel against Ståle Solbakken’s FCK with Barcelona in 2010, before last year he led City to a 0–0 against FCK in the Champions League group stage.
On Tuesday, he finally succeeded on Danish soil.
The second leg will be played in Manchester on Wednesday 6 March.
Played with by 16-year-old: – Have you eaten your brother? 01:22
Johaug dismissed the shots: – Empty and escape 01:05 NRK had to remove these images: – It was a good story 01:02 Is this the stupidest thing Skjelbæk has done? 00:50
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