Champions League: Manchester City Beat Bayern, Inter Beat Benfica

Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium to take charge of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final round.

After 27 minutes, Rodri scored a stunning goal with a looping left-foot shot into the top corner to give Manchester City the lead in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals round.

With 20 minutes remaining, City, who had been a constant threat, increased their lead when Erling Haaland sent a brilliantly placed cross that Bernardo Silva expertly headed in.

Six minutes later, Haaland scored City’s third goal. He did so by latching onto John Stones’ headed pass and slipping a finish past Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Bayern had opportunities of their own, including a chance for Leroy Sane, a former City forward, who forced an important stop from Ederson early in the second half. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do enough as the game ended 3-0 in favour of City.

Bayern, under new coach Thomas Tuchel, now faces a difficult assignment to turn this quarterfinal tie around in the second leg at the Allianz Arena. The return leg will take place on April 19 (8 PM WAT).

Inter Milan Defeat Benfica

Inter Milan have a fantastic chance to move to the Champions League semifinals ahead of Benfica thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s 82nd-minute penalty.

During the first leg of the quarterfinals in Lisbon, Nicolo Barella’s downward header gave Inter the lead.

As Benfica put on a defensive display in front of their home fans, Inter found it difficult to keep the game under their control.

Andre Onana’s first-half save prevented Rafa Silva from scoring and Inter’s Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries made a critical close-range save as Benfica sought an equalizer.

The Italian visitors wrapped up a solid win when substitute Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, scored from the spot after former Inter player Joao Mario handled the ball inside the box.

Referee Michael Oliver awarded the penalty after watching the incident on the pitchside monitor, with replays showing the ball struck the side of Mario’s head before hitting his hand.

Simone Inzaghi’s side will fancy their chances of finishing the job in front of their fans in the return leg on 19 April (8 PM WAT).