City cracks Atletico’s ten series
Liverpool smiles a belated smile
05/04/2022, 10:55 PM
Day one of the Champions League quarter-finals couldn’t be more different. While Benfica Lisbon and Liverpool continue to attack, Atlético Madrid are always on their way to destruction. But Manchester City finds a solution.
Manchester City – Atletico Madrid 1: 0 (0: 0)
Manchester City opened the door for a return to the Champions League semi-finals by defeating Atletico Madrid. The Premier League leaders won the first leg of the quarter-final against the highly defensive Spaniards 1-0 (0-0). Kevin De Bruyne (70) replaced the millionth set of superstar Pep Guardiola coach.
With Ilkay Gundogan as the captain of the team, last year’s finalists initially pissed off the guests. Despite nearly 75 percent of possession, there wasn’t a single significant chance of English rain until the end of the first half. Madrid, a finalist in 2014 and 2016, skillfully defended with two strings of five, and Diego Simeone’s tactics paid off in full.
Evening Gate.
(Photo: Reuters)
After the break, City became more and more dangerous. A header from Aymeric Laporte (64) passed over the goal, and a little later it was time: Phil Foden sent a clever pass to De Bruyne, and the Belgian rushed into the far corner with an overview.
City have never won the most coveted club title ever, despite an infusion of money from Abu Dhabi. A year ago, Sky Blues failed in the final at Chelsea. Atletico are also missing the knob pot in the front. The return leg will take place in Madrid on April 13. Atletico and Simeone had already decisively upset Guardiola: in 2016 the Spaniards ousted Bayern Munich, coached by Guardiola, in the semi-finals.
Benfica Lisabon – Liverpool 1:3 (0:2)
Jurgen Klopp has taken another step forward with Liverpool in the race for four titles. Five days before the summit meeting of the English Football League against defending champion Manchester City, the Reds won 3-1 (2-0) in the first leg of the quarter-finals in Benfica Lisbon.
Team manager Klopp’s team, which has already won the League Cup, has reached the FA Cup semi-finals. Leipziger players Ibrahima Konate (17), Sadio Mane (34) and Luis Diaz (87) scored the goals of the 2005 and 2019 Champions League winners. After a mistake by Konate, Darwin Nunez (49) reduced the goal.). On Sunday (5:30pm/Sky) the whole of England will be looking at the first game of the Premier League in Manchester, which Liverpool is one point behind.
Portugal’s record-breaking champions with national player Julian Weigl, who are only third in the domestic league, are once again threatened with elimination in the quarter-finals: Benfica have never reached the quarter-finals of the first division. Lisbon won its two titles in 1961 and 1962, when the competition was still called the European Champions Cup.
Klopp changed his team six places compared to the 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday. Also present was Mohamed Salah, who missed the first good opportunity to take the lead (11). Six minutes later, Konate doubled the ball with a header from Andrew Robertson’s corner kick. Mane extended the lead before the end of the first half. Konate brought Benfica back into the match. After the goal, the homeowners pushed to equalize.
