Haaland scores as Manchester City beat Copenhagen and secure last-eight spot | Champions League

This victory was as smooth and serene as Manchester City’s passage into Friday-week’s draw for the quarter-finals.

Three-one up from the first leg, Pep Guardiola sent out an XI that rested the frontline artillery of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Nathan Aké and Kyle Walker ahead of the crunch clash with Liverpool and Copenhagen still trailed 3-1 at the break, 6-2 on aggregate.

Manuel Akanji, Julián Álvarez and Erling Haaland were City’s scorers, Mohamed Elyounoussi registering Copenhagen’s consolation as the second half became an exercise in keeping shape and concentration for the Catalan’s side.

Whoever City are paired with in Nyon will provoke zero fear in the ranks or with Guardiola, whose supreme unit remain headed for what would be a quite remarkable defence of the treble.

Five-nil to City had been the aggregate score in last season’s two group games. Jacob Neestrup billed the challenge before his team as “close to impossible” as three unanswered goals were needed to progress.

What Copenhagen did not need was to concede twice, inside five minutes. They did. Diligent work from Rico Lewis, City’s right-back, ensured a corner, and from here it was simple for the holders. Álvarez swung this into the area, Peter Ankersen failed to handle Akanji and he volleyed beyond Kamil Grabara.

This was the Swiss’s fourth of the season in home colours. City’s second soon followed. This time Álvarez scored – from his own corner, on the left. The No 19’s initial delivery was headed against the bar by Rodri, the ball bounced back out to him, and Álvarez unloaded straight at Grabara: the masked No 1 flapped at the shot and pushed it in.

Embarrassment for the goalkeeper, disaster for his side. At 5-1 up overall in the tie an obliteration was on. Mateo Kovacic requiring treatment allowed Neestrup to have a chat with his players. The message had to be to keep it tight for as long as possible and see where it took them.

No advice, though, can mitigate when being a class or two below as Neestrup had also conceded. Oscar Bobb was an apt emblem of this. Fielded in only a second competition start as the No 10, the 20-year-old floated about, receiving the ball, making piercing darts and offloading.

Bobb, though, was culpable when Copenhagen scored. A loose pass from the Norwegian that found neither Haaland or Lewis allowed the Danes to break. Elyounoussi skipped down the left, cut infield and tapped to Orri Óskarsson. A slick backheel returned the ball and the No 10 struck.

Guardiola will have detested this. Suddenly his men were playing chase-ball. Copenhagen, for a passage, were in impressive pass-and-move mode. Then, Bobb was strong-armed by Scott McKenna and drew a foul, moments later, Lewis upended Elyounoussi, and the contest became bitty.

Guardiola took the arm of Rohit Saggi as he argued a point with the fourth official in a sign of frustration that was eased when City registered in the period’s added time. Rodri dropped a diagonal into Haaland who lurked in an inside-right zone in the area: he controlled, shimmied between McKenna and Elias Jelert and beat Grabara to the latter’s left.

Guardiola’s move for the second half was to give Rodri a rest ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield in a rejig that had his replacement, Sergio Gómez, go to the left, Álvarez move across and Kovacic drop into the Spaniard’s pivot role.

This meant City had two No 10s in Álvarez and Bobb or, maybe, an inside-right and inside left. And that their manager still kept De Bruyne, Foden, Silva, Stones, Aké and Walker in storage (for the moment at least) ahead of facing Jürgen Klopp’s men.

The atmosphere was becalmed but what Guardiola wanted to see was his charges keep to the patterns and rhythms he drills them incessantly in. The carousel passing of Gvardiol, Kovacic, Dias, Bobb, Álvarez et al will have pleased then and, as the contest moved beyond the hour mark, the temptation to bring off Haaland grew.

In his first City campaign Matheus Nunes has more and more convinced. Stationed on the right, the Portuguese’s fluid movement inside throughout displayed a comprehension of Guardiola’s geometric demands, as did a jink along his flank, pirouette, and simple off-lay to a colleague in a better area. Now, Ederson showed he is versed in the goalkeeper’s need to always be alert when stopping a Magnus Mattsson snap-shot at point blank range, and when Guardiola made a second substitution it was to hand Stones a 22-minute run out, Rúben Dias given the breather.

Nunes was taken off due to what appeared a painful finger problem. In the away end Copenhagen’s faithful danced and sang. Their spirit deserves credit, as do City for the relentless quality.