City did not crack
Yet very playful in her temperament even if it means exposing herself, City has still not conceded a single goal in these final stages! The success of Pep Guardiola’s team is therefore total, against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid unable to find the fault despite a great intensity in the last half hour…
The English dominated less than a week earlier in England, they did not score, but they confirmed that their tactical system was in place, as difficult to stop as to break through.
Antoine Griezmann’s partners discovered each other over the course of the match, and the Frenchman even almost scored with an unscrewed shot (57th). The people of Madrid even pushed enormously in the final moments, without success, before a sour end to the match and a red card sent to Felipe.
The Mancunians, defending finalists, will have to monitor the physical condition of Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, who came out slightly injured. But their dream of finally lifting the cup with big ears is safe, with this third qualification for the semi-finals.
It will still be in Madrid, with a trip to the Bernabeu, to Real, for the return match in early May. An enticing duel between the English offensive armada and Karim Benzema, who has already scored 12 goals this season in C1, including the last in extra time on Tuesday against Chelsea. Real and City have faced each other six times in C1: two wins each, two draws, seven goals scored on either side. Balance ?
The resistance of the Reds
Few teams in Europe can afford to make seven changes between a quarter-final first leg and a quarter-final second leg of the Champions League with only a two-goal lead.
Liverpool are one of them and their coach Jürgen Klopp is not afraid to hold his replacements accountable.
The Reds have indeed completed their ticket without their captain Virgil Van Dijk or their attacking duo Mohamed Salah – Sadio Mané at kick-off, no doubt in anticipation of the shock that awaits Liverpool against City on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Cup. ‘England.
The risk was enough to scare, but not to the French Ibrahima Konaté, providential scorer (21st) from the head … as on the way out, nor to Roberto Firmino, author of a double (55th, 64th).
Benfica, for its part, did not manage to be sufficiently dangerous to overcome the handicap of the first leg (3-1), despite a very good reaction, with the goals of Gonçalo Ramos (32nd), Roman Yaremchuk (74th) and Darwin Nunez (82nd).
The English find the last four of the competition for the first time since the year of their last coronation, 2019… They have an appointment there against the surprise of this edition 2021-22, the Villarreal of Unaï Emery, heartthrob improbable from Bayern Munich on Tuesday (1-1, first leg: 1-0) … The poster is unbalanced, but it was already unbalanced in the 2016 Europa League final, when Klopp and Liverpool had crossed Emery, at the time Sevilla coach. The Andalusians won 3-1.