Key events
73 min: City slip back into Probe Mode. Copenhagen counter by switching into Hold Your Shape Mode.
71 min: Gonçalves makes way for Oscar Højlund, brother of Manchester United’s Rasmus. Højlund’s first act is to shoulder-barge Haaland off the ball. It looks a fair challenge, but the referee doesn’t agree, and Falk goes into the book for critiquing the decision.
70 min: Doku cuts in from the left and larrups a riser towards the top right. Grabara extends and parries, one for the scrapbook.
68 min: Rodri has a whack from distance. His daisycutter dribbles harmlessly wide left, and on the touchline, Pep doesn’t look 100 percent happy with what he’s just seen. To be fair, Rodri has some moral credit in the bank for this particular competition.
67 min: Doku cuts in from the left but can’t get a useful shot away. Foden takes up possession and attempts to steer into the bottom left. McKenna blocks and deflects out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
65 min: Jelert and Achouri take turns to surge down the left flank, the latter looking for Cornelius in the middle. His low cross is easily snaffled by Ederson. Copenhagen certainly have a goal on the counter in them.
64 min: Jelert ships possession to De Bruyne, who curls into the Copenhagen box from the right. Haaland is able to get his header on target, but not with any power behind it. Grabara claims.
63 min: … nothing.
62 min: Foden slips another cute pass down the right, this time for Walker, who wins a corner. And from that …
60 min: Ederson starts a passing move that covers the entire right flank. Foden at the heart of it, nearly releasing De Bruyne on goal with the final ball. Not quite, but a corner will suffice. Copenhagen clear that easily enough, and counter through Elyounoussi down the left. Elyounoussi crosses long. Cornelius, at the far post, shapes to volley home from six yards … only to be denied by Ake’s strange but spectacular low diving header. What a clearance! What entertaining end-to-end football!
58 min: Walker tries to release Doku down the left with a raking diagonal, but the ball sails through to Grabara. Doku has been, by his own standards, relatively quiet since coming on.
56 min: Achouri clips De Bruyne as the City genius sashays down the inside-right flank. A free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the six-yard box. De Bruyne shapes to swing it towards them all, but Foden attempts the surpriser, aiming direct for the top right. The ball floats and it’s easy pickings for Grabara.
55 min: Before the corner is taken, Cornelius comes on for Claesson. Then the corner is taken. Then nothing. We move on.
54 min: … so having said that, Rodri forensically passes down the inside-right channel for De Bruyne, who takes a touch before swivelling and aiming a shot towards the bottom-right corner from distance. It’s heading in, but Grabara tips around the post acrobatically. Fine football all round.
53 min: Silva curls a cross in from the right with the hope of finding Foden, but it doesn’t find his man. City not quite in top gear since the restart.
51 min: Elyounoussi sends a speculative diagonal pass towards Achouri on the left. Ederson comes to the edge of his box to claim. Had Achouri been on the front foot, he might have got there before the keeper, but he was snoozing.
49 min: Elyounoussi slips Mattsson into space down the right touchline. Mattsson – making his debut tonight after joining from NEC Nijmegen – wins the first corner of the second half. Vavro flicks the corner to the far stick, but Elyounoussi isn’t on point to head home. A decent chance passes by.
47 min: City begin the half by stroking it around very patiently indeed. Encouraging the home crowd to pipe down.
Manchester City get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time entertainment. City also going great guns in the Women’s FA Cup! Faye Carruthers and Suzanne Wrack pore over a controversial weekend of action.
HALF TIME: Copenhagen 1-2 Manchester City
City more than deserve their lead on the balance of play. Indeed they should be further in front. They’ve played some outstanding football. And yet the actual story has unfolded in the most unpredictable way. They don’t look particularly happy as they leave the pitch, no doubt thinking they should have notched up more goals, but while a lead’s a lead, high standards are high standards.
GOAL! Copenhagen 1-2 Manchester City (Silva 45+1)
De Bruyne challenges Mattsson at the right-hand corner of the Copenhagen box. He’s attempting to play the ball across the face of the box, but it springs down the inside-right channel for Silva, who dinks elegantly across Grabara and into the bottom left. Gorgeous finish, but a huge lucky break for the assist!
45 min: De Bruyne’s speculative shot is blocked by McKenna, whose previous competitive appearance was for Forest during extra time in the FA Cup at Blackpool.
43 min: Under no pressure whatsoever, Diks and Mattsson mess up a simple throw-in routine. A timely reminder that Copenhagen haven’t played a competitive game for two months.
41 min: … and so despite it all, Copenhagen could conceivably be leading this match. The great Jimmy Greaves had a phrase for this.
39 min: Suddenly the wind is behind Copenhagen, and Jelert sprays a diagonal ball towards Mattsson, who has been ignored by Foden out on the left flank. Mattsson brings the ball down, enters the box, leans back and hoicks over. He should have done much better.
38 min: Foden and Stones combine smoothly down the right … until the latter gets too casual and runs the ball out for a goal kick.
37 min: Parken had fallen a little bit quiet just before the goal. Not now. The place bouncing just as it was before kick-off. Probably more so, given they’ve just seen their side notch a screamer against the reigning champions.
35 min: Tell you what, that goal is a complete affront to the concept of momentum. But it’s a huge mistake by Ederson, and it was snapped up in glorious fashion by Mattsson.
GOAL! Copenhagen 1-1 Manchester City (Mattsson 34)
City create yet another scoring opportunity … but this time for Copenhagen. Ederson plays a dismal pass out towards Ake. Or more accurately, straight to Elyounoussi. His shot is blocked, but only deflects to Mattsson to his left. Mattsson opens his body and power-curls a 25-yard shot into the top right! The hosts level! Eh?!
33 min: A throw for Copenhagen down the left, deep in City territory. Walker flings the ball away and is fortunate not to go into the book.
32 min: A rare sortie into City territory for Copenhagen, as Diks and Claesson combine down the left, the latter reaching the byline. But neither shot nor cross can be crafted, and City clear.
30 min: City are now rampant again. Doku and Silva take turns to shoot from the middle of a crowded box. Both are blocked. Copenhagen can only half clear, and this time Silva tries to solve the crowded-box problem by elegantly floating a chip over everybody, towards the top-right corner. Grabara claims the ball just in time.