Manchester City and Real Madrid win in Champions League Round of 16 first leg ties

Manchester City and Real Madrid picked up wins in both their Champions League Round of 16 matches, earning an advantage for the return leg. 

The defending champions beat FC Copenhagen 3-1, with Kevin De Bruyne marking his return to the competition with a stunning goal. The Belgian has been on fire since he came back from the long injury layoff, and his performance last night was yet another instance of him being one of the best in the world. Although Copenhagen equalised through Magnus Mattson shortly after the half hour mark, City went into the break with the lead after Bernardo Silva scored, with an assist from De Bruyne. 

Real Madrid and Manchester City win UCL Ro16 first legs 

Phil Foden scored late in the game to take away any hope of a comeback for Copenhagen, and setting them up for a comfortable leg at home next time around. City will be hoping the injury to Jack Grealish is not serious, as the winger had to be replaced by Jeremy Doku shortly after De Bruyne’s opening goal. 

Real Madrid, on the other hand, didn’t have it as easy. Los Blancos scraped by with a 1-0 win against RB Leipzig, with the tie still wide open for a possible comeback in the second leg. 

Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of the game, but Andriy Lunin was the real star, making nine saves to deny RB Leipzig and keep a clean sheet. The Ukrainian has stepped up in the absence of Thibaut Courtois, and has caused Kepa Arrizabalaga to remain on the bench in spite of being brought in as a back-up. 

Nacho returned to the starting line-up, and was the only senior central defender in the squad. But Madrid have remained on the front foot and have been able to keep two clean sheets in as many games since Antonio Rudiger’s injury.