The battle is in full swing! In the early hours of Thursday morning (20), the UEFA Europa League Round of 8 second-leg matches came to a close. Manchester City battled to a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich on the road and advanced to the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals for the third consecutive year with a 4-1 aggregate score in both rounds. The team's leader, Diego Guardiola, made history again by leading his team to the semi-finals for the 10th time and set a new record in the UEFA Europa League. City will battle Real Madrid for a place in the final, vowing to avenge last year's dramatic elimination.
With a three-goal advantage in the first leg, City continued to play at full strength. 38 minutes in, the team had a chance from 12 yards, but Einin Chalantes' shot went over the crossbar, and 57 minutes in, the Norwegian seafarer leveled the score with a brilliant volley. Bayern equalized in the 83rd minute with a penalty kick by Gammage, but it was too little too late.
Manchester City became the third team in the history of the Premier League to reach the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals in three consecutive years since Manchester United and Chelsea (2007-2009). Gaudiona became the first manager to lead his team to 10 UEFA quarterfinals, the previous record holder being their rival Real Madrid's coach Angelo Anciarotti (9 times). This quarterfinal match is the best of the best, while the other quarterfinal match is between AC Milan and Inter Milan.
The "Battle of Manchester" was a repeat of last year's UEFA Europa League quarterfinals, when Manchester City won the first leg 4-3, but were shut out in the second leg and eventually lost 1-2, with Real Madrid winning in dramatic comeback fashion in extra time to win the title. Gordiona said after the match: "Reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League for three consecutive years is a fantastic achievement, and we all know that to win the UEFA Europa League, we have to beat Real Madrid. The target used to be Barcelona, now it's Real Madrid."
