Rocio Robles
The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals kicked off on Tuesday, April 5 with the following matches: Benfica vs Liverpool and Manchester City vs Atlético de Madrid. Both duels were emotionally charged, but the British teams prevailed on the scoreboard and will go into the second leg with a partial victory.
Prior to the UEFA Champions League matchday, the British teams were already favorites, and their results only confirmed that they are clear contenders to become European Champions.
UEFA Champions League results: Benfica unable to stop Liverpool attack
Liverpool was the visiting team for this UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, but Jurgen Klopp’s team is known for its attacking ability and was expected to do something similar to what happened on the pitch on Tuesday. It only took 17 minutes on the clock for the English team to get on the scoreboard. Ibrahuma Konaté made it 1-0 to Liverpool after a header in the box.
The second goal came from Senegal’s Sadio Mané and made it 2-0 before the end of the first half.
A few minutes into the second half, Benfica’s response came from Uruguay’s Darwin Núñez.
Liverpool took possession of the ball again and tried several times. It was not until the 87th minute when the Colombian Luis Díaz closed the scoreboard with 1-3 in favor of the visitors, when he took advantage of a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. In this way Liverpool takes the advantage to close the series at home.
UEFA Champions League Results: Manchester City narrowly beat Atletico Madrid
Manchester City found the red-and-white wall of the Argentine Diego Simeone’s team hard to break down.
In the style of Spanish manager Pep Guardiola, City controlled the ball for most of the match, trying time and again to open the scoring. Minutes passed, and the game continued in the same pattern, with the English dominance and Atlético de Madrid’s tenacity in the face of the onslaught.
The first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline, with six shots from the English and none from the Spanish.
For the second half, the “Citizens” maintained the same strategy: to exhaust the patience of the rival and score, while that of “Atleti” changed: although the priority was to defend, they looked for spaces to try to surprise Pep’s team.
The “colchoneros” had two clear opportunities to open the scoreboard, but did not do so. The game had moments of back and forth, but the attacking intensity of the English was always stronger.
In the 70th minute, City managed to break down the red-and-white wall with a goal by Belgian Kevin De Bruyne. Phil Foden had a couple of minutes on the field after coming on as a substitute and the freshness he brought to the team was evident, because thanks to his play, he scored the long-awaited goal. He received with his back to goal, turned with control of the ball and looked for the space where De Bruyne was arriving. The remaining 20 minutes brought more attempts from both teams but there were no more goals and, finally, Manchester won by the minimum.
