Ferland Mendy faced Real Madrid with a late winner, who scored a 1-0 win over 10-man Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.
Real’s task seemed much easier after Atalanta’s Remo Freuler was sent off in the 17th minute for denying Mendy a scoring opportunity.
Against the 10 men, Zinedine Zidane’s team, missing several high-profile players due to injury, struggled to break the hosts and Real only had one shot on goal for the rest of the first half.
Atalanta persisted in defending after the break, but Mendy’s great 86th-minute goal put the Spanish side ahead.
The Portuguese midfielder of Manchester City, Bernardo Silva (L), and the Swiss defender of Moenchengladbach, Nico Elvedi, fight for the ball during the UEFA Champions League in the last sixteen at the Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary, February 24, 2021. AFP photo)
Manchester City Stretch Winning Run
Bernardo Silva scored once and set up another goal when Manchester City scored a 2-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in the last knockout round of the Champions League. Expansion of the winning run to 19 games in all competitions.
City, who have been unbeaten in their last 26 games, have a huge advantage for the second leg on March 16 in Manchester after Silva headed a precise cross from Joao Cancelo in the 29th minute to give them the lead.
The Portuguese midfielder headed another Cancelo cross in the 65th minute to allow Gabriel Jesus to pierce.
Striker Sergio Aguero was substituted on after a long absence from Pep Guardiola’s team, who have won the last 12 away matches in all competitions, and set a new record for a top English team.
The first leg was played in the Hungarian capital due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Germany and City quickly took control of the game, distributing the ball well and looking for openings in the Gladbach defense.
Phil Foden tested goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the sixth minute with a crisp shot, but City had no clear scoring chance, although he controlled possession until Silva’s header.
Jesus should have done much better when he benefited from a Gladbach back pass at the start of the first half, but with only beating Sommer he hesitated and lost possession.
The Brazilian made amends minutes later, hitting a Silva header from another excellent Cancelo cross.
Gladbach, who had only one target attempt in the entire game, had his best chance with Alassane Pleas spectacular back-flick volley shortly after the hour, but was otherwise boxed in his own half.
The Germans have now lost three of their last four games in all competitions and while City are close to the fourth quarter-finals in a row, the Germans will have to climb a mountain in the second leg.
