Manchester City reached the UEFA Champions League playoffs after beating Club Brugge 3-1 on Wednesday. Raphael Onyedika opened the scoring for Club Brugge in the 45th minute, but Mateo Kovacic brought Manchester City level in the 53rd minute at Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have won four of their past five Premier League games to climb back into the top four after a miserable run of results. In midweek they survived a huge scare against Club Brugge to scrape into the Champions League play-off round,
Manchester City stayed in the Champions League, barely. Paris Saint-Germain saved its elite status in style. Both had risked embarrassing exits before winning on Wednesday, grateful to be among the 24 teams in the knockout stage.
Pep Guardiola has told John Stones that, unless he “promises” he cannot play, he has to start Manchester City ’s “final” against Club Brugge on Wednesday and spare them from the embarrassment of an early Champions League exit.
While Man City go gung-ho for a crucial three points on Wednesday, they may run into a parked Club Brugge bus, as their 20th-placed visitors will assure themselves of a spot in the playoff round with just a draw at the home of the Premier League champions.
Second-half goals from Mateo Kovacic and Savinho helped Manchester City to a second-half comeback over Club Brugge that saves their Champions League campaign... for now.
Manchester City beat Club Brugge in the Champions League to finally book a play-off spot on the final round of League Phase games.
Manchester City are struggling to make an impact against Club Brugge in their crucial Champions League fixture.
Man City’s Champions League journey continues with a high-stakes play-off against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Can they advance?
Manchester City face a blockbuster Champions League play-off tie against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich after scraping through the new league phase with a 3-1 victory over Club Brugge.
An away clash at Bournemouth might not have been underlined as a major obstacle in Liverpool's pursuit of the Premier League title but Saturday's clash on the south coast suddenly looks anything but a relaxed trip to the seaside.
Inter Milan, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid sealed top-eight finishes as expected — joining Liverpool and Barcelona advancing directly to the round of 16 – with low-key wins. Inter beat Monaco 3-0, Arsenal won 2-1 at Girona and Atletico won 4-1 at Salzburg, which had a woeful campaign.