Gary Neville claims Man City have 'ruined' the Champions League as Man Utd comparison made

Gary Neville has risked angering Manchester City fans with a comparison between their games in the Champions League and bitter rivals Manchester United.

City ran out 3-1 winners over FC Copenhagen in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Tuesday evening.

Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, although Copenhagen did equalise through Magnus Mattsson following a mistake from goalkeeper Ederson.

Bernardo Silva restored City's lead on the stroke of halftime after Erling Haaland hit the crossbar.

Phil Foden added a third in second-half injury time to give City a comfortable lead heading into next month's return leg at the Etihad Stadium.

City have won nine games in a row in the Champions League, a feat no other English team has ever managed in the competition.

Pep Guardiola's side won the Champions League last season and look favourites to retain their crown later this year.

Their dominance has drawn criticism in recent weeks. Neville admitted he didn't watch City's display at Parken as he felt 'bored' entertaining the idea they'd be beaten.

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Copenhagen qualified from Group A in second place ahead of United, who Neville believes, in their prime under Sir Alex Ferguson, were always able to be beaten.

He explained on the latest episode of Stick to Football brought to you by Sky Bet: "I didn’t switch Manchester City on, on Tuesday night. I felt a bit bored.

"I saw a post from a Liverpool fan that said he watched every single one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United games in the Champions League because there was that feeling that there was always going to be excitement one way or the other – they’d lose, or they’d win and the game would be exciting.

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"You just can’t watch City – it’s almost like they’ve ruined it a little bit.

"To call City boring would be wrong because the football they play is outstanding, but I actually thought they were boring – I found it difficult to watch them.

"Since Erling Haaland’s gone [with an injury] they’re a bit more imperfect."

City return to action against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday night.

Gary Neville was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.