UEFA Champions League Round Up
Manchester City have a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
It was a result City had to eek out against an Atletico side who had clearly travelled to England with the aim of simply denying Pep Guardiola’s side opportunities and who failed to produce a single shot on target.
Diego Simeone’s outfit had frustrated City throughout the first half with their deep lying defending and reliance on only the occasional counter to threaten the hosts.
City rotated the ball with their usual expertise and made it difficult for Atletico to push out from their deep defensive formation, while never over-committing themselves.
But the Premier League champions were unable to turn their total dominance of possession into clear chances with Aymeric Laporte having one of the best opportunities after the break, but the defender’s header from a corner was off target.
Atletico’s rare breaks served as a reminder to City that they had to keep some discipline, although when the Spaniards did fashion an opening Marcos Llorente failed to test Ederson.
City kept their shape and moved the ball well but it took the introduction of substitute Phil Foden for the home side to find the missing ingredient.
Foden, who came on with Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus, drew three defenders towards him before splitting the Spanish rearguard with a perfectly weighted pass to De Bruyne who slotted past goalkeeper Jan Oblak with a side-foot finish.
De Bruyne then had space for another attempt on goal, which was well blocked by defender Stefan Savic’s outstretched foot.
The second leg will be held at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid next Wednesday but before then City have a crucial clash at home to Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp heaped praise on Benfica keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for denying the English side a bigger victory after their 3-1 win in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Liverpool took the upper hand in the tie as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a comfortable victory in Lisbon and it could have been much worse for the Portuguese club.
“We should have scored much more,” Klopp told BT Sport.
“I think, mainly because of their goalkeeper, credit to him. Their goalkeeper was probably the game’s best player. We played well, but he made a couple of really good saves.”
Klopp said he was satisfied with the win and with their two-goal advantage ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield.
“It was a tough game but I expected it,” Klopp said.
“They had these counter-attacks as they recovered the ball in the midfield that was a threat. It’s not always easy to keep the ball all the time. The further you go, the more risk you take. And they have really good players.”
After Liverpool dominated the first half, Benfica made a game of it after the break at a packed Luz stadium, that roared their team back into the contest when Darwin Nunez scored in the 49th minute to make it 2-1.
“It was tough when they scored because the crowd was there immediately because they knew that 2-0 is nothing, it’s nice but nothing more than that and we saw it after they scored. The game was much more open than we expected.
“That’s it. We won. Two goals up. Halftime. Not more, not less. It would have been nice to score another one, but let’s keep going. We have a good result, we know much more about our opponent going to the second game and are aware of their quality.”
Chelsea’s hold on the Champions League hangs precariously after Karim Benzema’s hat-trick put Real Madrid in a position of power following the quarter-final first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti made a winning return to the club where he won the Premier League and FA Cup double after veteran France striker Benzema delivered his latest masterclass.
Benzema, 34 and fresh from the treble that sunk Paris St-Germain in the last 16, punished holders Chelsea with two magnificent headers in the space of three minutes midway through the first half.
Kai Havertz’s header gave Chelsea hope before the break but keeper Edouard Mendy’s poor clearance seconds after the restart gifted Benzema his third to put Real in command of the tie before the second leg at the Bernabeu next Tuesday (12 April).
Ex-Bournemouth forward Arnaut Danjuma scored as Villarreal stunned Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
The home side were superb from the outset and led inside 10 minutes when Danjuma stabbed in from close range.
Francis Coquelin had a goal ruled out while Gerard Moreno hit the post as Villarreal pushed for a second.
German champions Bayern were well below par and did not manage a shot on target until the second half.
Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 51 goals for club and country this season, was kept quiet by a well-organised Villarreal defence as the hosts followed up their impressive win against Juventus in the previous round with another big result.
But as poor as Bayern were they will feel they can turn things round against the Spanish side in the return leg on Tuesday, 12 April.
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