UCL Round Up: Manchester City scrapes through, Real and Bayern await tough tests

Manchester City scraped through to the playoff knockout round of the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Savinho celebrates after coming off the bench to spark Manchester City's comeback in their final group game of the Champions League on Wednesday. City beat Club Brugge 3-1. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

Manchester City scraped through to the playoff knockout round of the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

The result means Pep Guardiola maintains his record of progressing from the opening stage of the competition in every year of his managerial career, but there are so many questions to ask about the state of mind of everyone in the Manchester City squad.

City dominated possession in the first half but failed to create any clear-cut chances, though Ilkay Gundogan did put the ball in the net from an offside position. They were stung in the final minutes as Brugge counterattacked, and Raphael Onyedika finished calmly after some excellent work from Ferran Jutgla on the left wing. 

Guardiola's side forced the issue in the second half, with Mateo Kovacic giving his side hope in the 53rd minute with a great solo run through the Brugge midfield and a fine finish, before tricky work from Savinho saw Josko Gvardiol find space on the left-hand side of the box. 

Gvardiol’s effort went in off Joel Ordonez and into the net. Brazilian winger Savinho, who came off the bench to spark the comeback, then scored himself in the 77th minute to confirm Manchester City’s passage to the knockout rounds. 

City's campaign in Europe this season has seen a number of uncharacteristic collapses, beginning with a 4-1 humbling away to Sporting CP—then coached by now Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.

They then blew a three-goal lead away at the Etihad to Feyenoord, fell to a 2-0 defeat at Juventus, and conceded four against PSG, having led 2-0 last Wednesday to put their hopes of progressing in doubt. 

However, the win against Brugge means their resurgence continues, with a two-legged playoff tie to come against an opponent to be decided on Friday. From the look of things, the Premier League champions are likely to face a stern test in the playoffs with Bayern Munich or Real Madrid waiting.

Elsewhere, Liverpool finished on top of the league phase table despite losing 3-2 away at PSV on Wednesday as second-placed Barcelona got held at home against spirited Atalanta. It was the first time the Kops dropped points in the Champions League, but it’s at no cost. 

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa both won to finish in the top eight and secure direct progress to the round of 16, as did Atletico Madrid. Lautaro Martinez scored a hat trick for Inter Milan as they thrashed AS Monaco. 

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich won their final games against Stade Brest and Slovan Bratislava, respectively, but face the same fate as City in the playoffs, having made slow starts to their continental seasons, and could well face off against Pep Guardiola’s side.