Haaland scores to book Madrid semi-final

Haaland scores to book Madrid semi-final


Erling Haaland scored his 48th goal of the season as Manchester City weathered a storm to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich.

The prolific Norwegian Wednesday rallied after missing a penalty to score in the 57th minute of the tense quarter-final second leg at the Allianz Arena as City overcame 4-1 on aggregate.

Joshua Kimmich scored the opening goal of Bayern’s equalizer with a late penalty, but the result was already beyond doubt as City staged a rerun of last year’s semi-final against holders Real Madrid.

Before Haaland’s goal effectively nullified the equaliser, the evening had been eventful with Bayern fending off a number of chances and Haaland kicking high from the penalty spot.

There was also confusion when Dayot Upamecano was sent off for fouling Haaland only to be dismissed as the City forward was offside.

Bayern were clearly affected by last week’s 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium and were determined to fight back.

They started with conviction and, feeding on the energy of a turbulent atmosphere, carried the game to City.

Kingsley Coman got free twice down the right in the opening minutes, but his final ball missed.

The visitors survived a bigger scare when ex-City winger Leroy Sane ran for goal but shot wide in an attempt to shoot low past Ederson.

The excitement perhaps came to loan City full-back Joao Cancelo when he clashed with his parent club, with the Portuguese booked for a poor challenge on international team-mate Bernardo Silva.

There was drama at the other end when Upamecano was given a red card for tripping Haaland as he went clear, but the decision was overturned after a flag was raised.

Upamecano had another outburst after he was adjudicated for handling a jab from Ilkay Gundogan.

The Bayern players did their best to delay the ensuing penalty and, when it was finally taken, Haaland fired over the bar.

That mistake gave Bayern renewed hope and they ended the first half in style with Coman shooting Ederson and Sane, who had earlier had a free kick saved, shooting wide from distance. Cancelo and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were also dismissed from close range.

Tempers frayed before half-time and Gundogan and Kimmich were booked after a meeting.

Haaland had another chance after the break when Bayern, chasing an equalizer, started to stretch but shot straight at Yann Sommer.

The home side came close again when a Coman shot wriggled through Ederson’s hold and rolled into the goal, but City cleared and Haaland made no mistake on his third call.

Once again the Bayern defense were caught out when Kevin De Bruyne led a charge. The Belgian calmly slipped into Haaland and, after missing a challenge, finished emphatically in front of goal.

That put a draw beyond doubt, but Bayern weren’t done yet. Mathys Tel had a goal disallowed for offside before Kimmich struck from the spot with seven minutes remaining after Manuel Akanji was penalized for hand ball.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel had to watch the final minutes from the stands after receiving a red card for letting his frustrations get the better of him.

READ MORE: Erling Haaland’s ridiculous stats: Beat Thierry Henry in Champions League round of 16



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