Five goals from Erling Haaland handed Manchester City a place in the last eight and Friday’s draw.
Manchester City progressed into the Champions League quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive year by thumping RB Leipzig 7-0 on Tuesday evening.
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne book-ended a ridiculous five-goal haul from Erling Haaland as City ran riot at the Etihad, putting the German side to the sword after a 1-1 draw in Leipzig a fortnight prior.
Haaland’s incredible performance grabbed all the headlines, his five strikes taking him to 39 across all competitions for the season and past Tommy Johnson’s 94-year one-season record with three months to spare. De Bruyne also starred just days after being told by Pep Guardiola to get back to basics, putting the cherry on the cake with his wonderful strike in added time.
ALSO READ: Champions League quarter-final draw details
Their place in the last eight secured, City will now look ahead to Friday’s quarter-final draw with the other seven teams confirmed. And while the old cliche of there being no easy quarter-finals rings true, Guardiola will no doubt have an eye on some of the other seven as so-called ‘preferred’ opposition, while others he will want to avoid.
Best case: AC Milan
A drab goalless draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was all AC Milan needed to progress into a first quarter-final draw since 2011/2012, holding on to the 1-0 aggregate lead they brought with them from San Siro.
European royalty they may be – their seven European Cups/Champions Leagues is only bettered by Real Madrid – but a feared force in their current state they are not. Stefano Piolo’s side have been wildly inconsistent this season, sitting fourth in the Serie A table after winning it in style last season, and have not progressed into the last four of this competition since going all the way in 2007.
Milan finished their group in second behind Chelsea, having been beaten home and away by Graham Potter’s side, while scraping past Antonio Conte’s lacklustre Spurs side will strike little fear into the other seven sides.
Not since 1978 have City faced AC Milan when they cruised to a 3-0 win at Maine Road, and Guardiola will be confident of a similarly convincing performance in both legs, should they meet in the last eight.
Worst case: Real Madrid
How City didn’t make it into last season’s final remains one of football’s great mysteries, and a return to the Bernabeu this season will bring back stark memories for Guardiola and his players.
The Blues took a 4-3 lead to the Spanish capital in last year’s semi-final, although will have felt aggrieved that it was not a more flattering advantage. Nevertheless, a one-goal lead heading into the final minute looked to have sent them into the final before two Rodrygo goals either side of the 90-minute mark inexplicably sent the tie into extra-time, allowing Karim Benzema to complete the comeback from the spot.
Madrid have faltered in La Liga this season and sit nine points behind Barcelona in second, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side remain shrewd operators in Europe and possess vast big-game experience and know-how.
Wednesday evening saw Los Blancos ride out a relatively comfortable 1-0 home win over Liverpool to follow up their 5-2 rout of Jurgen Klopp’s side a fortnight prior – a performance that will have struck fear into every remaining club, not least City.
Full list of the Champions League last eight: Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Napoli, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Benfica.