MANCHESTER, England, March 7, (AP): Manchester City continued its pursuit of back-to-back Champions League titles by advancing to the quarterfinals of European club soccer's elite competition with a 3-1 win over Copenhagen. Goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez, and Erling Haaland at Etihad Stadium saw City complete a 6-2 aggregate win.

It is the seventh straight season Pep Guardiola's team has advanced to the quarterfinals and this latest victory extended an unbeaten home run in the Champions League that stretches back 30 games to 2018.
"(When) I arrived we didn’t believe we could do it. It’s a question of time, a process," Guardiola said. "They (the hierarchy) gave me time, gave us time. We are a team that believes we can do it. Listen, we’re competing with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. We don’t know who we are going to face. It’s a question of wait and see. The important thing is seven years in a row we are here.”

Potential clashes with some of the giants of European soccer lie in wait with Madrid, Bayern, and Paris Saint-Germain also into the next stage.
But few teams would relish the prospect of meeting the defending champions, who remain in contention to become only the second team after Madrid to retain the trophy in its modern guise.

Even Guardiola's Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona team could not achieve that feat. Should City lift the trophy again, Guardiola would equal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's record haul of four Champions League titles.