Champions League

Liverpool will be eyeing a spot in this season's Champions League final when Villarreal come to town on Wednesday night. Can the Spanish side pull off yet ...

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Liverpool are timed served in Champions League semi-final appearances but that gives them no right to expect an easy ride against Villarreal.

Three semi-finals in five years also dilutes the uniqueness of the occasion but that must not be allowed to affect what needs to be a cauldron of an Anfield atmosphere that can frighten the wits out of Villarreal. His phenomenal conducting of the Kop's power after the Merseyside derby fires a warning that he is at the peak of his powers and Anfield must do the business one more time on Wednesday evening, while the goods times are here. After completing seven games out of nine in a mad April, Klopp's side are in the final of the FA Cup, a point behind Manchester City in the Premier League and on the cusp of a third European Cup final in five years. After achieving a French domestic silverware treble with Paris Saint-Germain in 2017/18, Emery took Arsenal to the 2018/19 Europa League final, where they were beaten by Chelsea. But he was back to gathering trophies last year with Villarreal. The Reds' defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the 2015/16 Europa League final after being a goal to the good was considered by many to be the catalyst of success under Jurgen Klopp that has produced wonders ever since. But before supporters start scouring travel apps for hotel deals and plotting a route across the English channel to France, a word of caution must be sounded.

The two EPL giants are separated by a point in the league standings with five games to go.

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed the idea that Liverpool have a dream Champions League semi-final draw as they prepare to face Villarreal in the next stage of ...

"That is for us the same. "They're a really good football team who obviously wants to make history as well. "

Liverpool take on Villarreal at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final on Wednesday and we can bring you the details of when and ...

Premier League Premier League Premier League

The Champions League semifinals begin as four teams remain in pursuit of continental glory. The action starts on Tuesday when Real Madrid head to Manchester ...

Match prediction: Manchester City 2, Real Madrid 1. His technical ability and speed should give the Real Madrid center-backs some serious trouble. I'll go with the guy who has to be on for Real to advance. He's had back-to-back hat tricks in the knockout stage and is playing out of his mind. Benzema, 34, is having far and away the best season of his career. The action kicks off on Tuesday when Real Madrid head to Manchester City for the first leg.

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp used his pre-Villarreal press conference in the Champions League to address a number of key points, including praising Unai ...

But whichever result we get, we work with it and fight with Villarreal. It means everything to us to make the Champions League final." If you need the next game to be 1000 per cent in, then bring on Villarreal in the Champions League. There are moments where we will suffer tomorrow night and there is no need to be nervous. Klopp was clear that Liverpool will come under pressure at certain times in the tie, but what Villarreal's clash with Bayern Munich proved is that those moments will be sporadic. Klopp is right to say that Liverpool cannot afford to make the mistakes that Juventus and Bayern did, but it is clear that they have the mentality to avoid falling into the same trap. A block on the line is like scoring for me. A big game, but that should be possible if the Reds are at their best. It would be massive but it is for us the same importance." Villarreal and their manager will prove a difficult team to beat over the course of the two legs, but Liverpool are overwhelming favourites, without a doubt. So many coaches and players work their socks off for their whole lives and have no chance to be close to this. We played a really good first half but it was game number 64 or whatever in that season and we had a lot of injury problems. "Unai is a detail-obsessed manager who prepares for all different situations in the game. We have to cherish it and enjoy it.

Manchester City meets Real Madrid Tuesday in the first of two Champions League semifinal first legs this week, with Liverpool and Villareal locking up on ...

The Scottish has just one European title to its name (the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup) and last approached glory in this tournament 14 years ago, when it lost to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the final of what was then known as the UEFA Cup. Despite being such a young franchise, this is RB Leipzig’s second semifinal appearance in a major European competition, having advanced to the final four of the Champions League in 2020. Thursday, 3 p.m. Eintracht Frankfurt has a minus-two goal differential and sits in ninth place in the Bundesliga, but has won four of its last five road Europa League games this year, and tied the other. Thursday, 3 p.m. Liverpool is one of three six-time winners of Europe’s top club competition, last taking the Champions League in 2019, and is a heavy favorite here against a Villareal side that sits only seventh in the La Liga standings. City and Real Madrid, who both lead their respective domestic leagues, met in the Champions League round of 16 two years ago, with the Premier League team winning both legs by identical 2-1 scores.

Villarreal boss Unai Emery said his team deserve to be in the semifinals of the Champions League ahead of Wednesday's clash with Liverpool.

"Anfield is special and the atmosphere is impressive, incredible," Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo said. "I recognise the work done and the identity created by Klopp, which has since been further improved. "It's not by chance that we are here," Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo said. "Any side that is in a Champions League semifinal is there because they deserve to be. They are the number one favourites to win this competition. They will feel like favourites, of course, but will have respect for us."

Liverpool have received news of a massive Champions League boost, as two key Villarreal players will miss the semi-final first leg at Anfield through ...

The case could be made that Pino may not have started the game anyway, given that he didn’t play in either of the Bayern games, with Giovanni Lo Celso preferred. Another blow for the Villarreal is the news that Pino also missed out on the training session. Pino has been making a name for himself this season playing on the right-side of Emery’s 4-4-2.

Mohamed Salah is fast closing in on a notable Didier Drogba and Sergio Aguero Champions League mark as Liverpool prepare to face Villarreal on Wednesday.

Brandt Sutton locked in his Champions League picks and best bets for Manchester City vs. Real Madrid on Tuesday, April 26.

- Manchester City vs. Visit SportsLine now to see the best bets for Manchester City vs. Manchester City has scored 13 goals in its five home matches during Champions League play and has posted a clean sheet in each of its last four overall contests in the tournament. The 25-year-old Brazilian is one of six players on Manchester City who's recorded double-digit goal total this season. Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 victory against Watford on Saturday, with Gabriel Jesus recording four goals and an assist. Here are the betting lines and trends for Real Madrid vs.

Carlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid's record of 13 European Cup wins is a “positive burden” for his players as they face Manchester City in the Champions ...

Normally, if Real Madrid get to the final, there is more of a possibility to win it.” “I think the history that Real Madrid has in this competition counts for a lot, more for us than opponents,” Ancelotti said. Real last won the competition in 2018, sealing a third consecutive triumph, while Ancelotti was the head coach who guided the club to their 10th success in 2014.

The quarterfinal round saw reigning champions Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and Benfica eliminated from the competition, as the field was cut down ...

Manchester City’s own Raheem Sterling secured a total of three goals in the Champions League. Manchester City are the favorite to win against Real Madrid in the semifinals, and also make it to the finals. He scores an average of 1.11 goals every 90 minutes with 32 total goals so far this season, 13 of those being in the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea did come back to claim victory in the second leg at 3-2, but it wasn’t enough for them to advance. Manchester City’s 1-0 victory occurred in the first leg while their second matchup with Atlético Madrid resulted in a tie of 0-0. The second leg of the quarterfinals ended in a tie, 3-3, so Benfica said their goodbyes.

A Spanish team's run to the semifinals offers a template for how teams can thrive by turning the impatience of Europe's giants against them.

It demonstrates that it is possible to grow strong on the scraps from the feast, to thrive in soccer’s increasingly Anglocentric ecosystem, by remembering that the appeal of a product depends on its use. Villarreal has long nurtured connections in South America in general and in Argentina in particular: When it last reached a Champions League semifinal, in 2006, it was with a team stocked with Boca Juniors alumni. Villarreal, on the other hand, does not feel like a vision of what is to come. “So they created a cleaning product made with vinegar,” Miguel Blanco, a business economics professor at King Juan Carlos University, once told a business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mercadona, like Villarreal, understands that the appeal of a product depends on how it is used. There is Vicente Iborra, a 34-year-old midfielder who struggled to make an impact at Leicester City, and Pervis Estupiñán, the young Ecuadorean left back who noodled around the great Watford loan factory for a while. But both contained trace elements of lightning strikes, too: difficult — if not impossible — to repeat or replicate. These are held at 10 stores around Spain, and each is devoted to a particular strand of the business: pet care, for example, or snacks or personal hygiene. Those familiar with Villarreal’s strategy say that is not a deliberate policy. To ensure the company is meeting their needs, Mercadona, every so often, invites a selection of its most reliable customers to take part in a testing laboratory. There has, instead, been a degree of opportunism. It was in Monaco’s run past Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund that Kylian Mbappé, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho first pierced the sport’s broader consciousness. Fernando Roig, Villarreal’s president and benefactor, has a minority stake in Mercadona, Spain’s largest retail chain, but it is his brother, Juan, the majority shareholder, who is credited with turning the latter into a staple case study for business schools around the world.

The Champions League semifinals are upon us, the action starts Tuesday on CBS and Paramount+. Manchester City host Real Madrid on Tuesday before Liverpool ...

A defense that may have only Craig Dawson as a fit center back will be tested but this is a team that has stood firm at both ends of the pitch in Europe. With the London Stadium at their backs they could well do enough to take control of the tie this week and book their passage back to Seville, where their knockout stage journey began. But, there is something to be said for the remorseless momentum that has gripped this club, where everything is being funneled into their pursuit of continental silverware. if their manager is ready to abandon the possession play he has gravitated to of late. Certainly that's no great surprise in the case of the Champions League where Liverpool and Manchester City have been strides ahead of the field for some time now. But, it was in that first half of the second leg that Villarreal seemed to conclude that they would win this tie, their belief not repressed even by Robert Lewandowski's goal. Here's one that has been sizzling away in the background for a while, not ready to be unleashed on the world until Barcelona crashed out of the Europa League. Now is the time to boldly declare this bit of Premier League exceptionalism. Flip the script of recent Villarreal games and if Klopp needs to tighten things up, he tends to have a top tier midfielder with fresh legs on the bench. Almost certainly not is the answer, an unfortunate one for those of a Villarreal persuasion or indeed those who just want to see a bit of spice in the latter stages of the Champions League. Then again one could have written the exact same thing throughout this competition. Across their Champions League games so far Villarreal have given up 4.85 expected goals and two actual goals in the first half as opposed to 9.73 and nine in the second. As the Belgian has hit top gear in recent weeks he has had something of another Manchester City great to his game. At full pelt Walker should be able to tame the Brazilian. If City do not have their best covering defender at that sort of level, then it might be Vinicius rather than Benzema who does the damage. Real Madrid have not gotten this far because they have been the clearly better team across the entirety of two legs in the previous rounds.

Raheem Sterling claims Manchester City are 'focussed' on the Champions League because it is the one trophy the club have yet to win.

I always help the team, if I can get records even better," the winger said. As ever, Sterling was humble in his response, pointing out that he just takes games one at a time. He continued, "It's a special competition, every young player wants to be here.

Manchester City go welcome Real Madrid for di first-leg of dia Champions League semi-final match.

Di EPL no dey dia hands to win, but di Champions League and FA Cup still dey dia hand." "DeM dey smell blood and dem no go go away easily. I expect Manchester City to win wit a slim margin, but dis Real Madrid team na Carlo Ancelotti dey coach dem."

Villarreal are thriving against Europe's elite with sights set on Champions League glory. Can they crack Liverpool next in semifinal bid?

Yet he's the one, in the Yellow Submarine's words, ensuring that 'everyone of us, has all we need' for a Champions League semifinal against the six-time competition winners. He was told on arrival that his negative test hadn't been produced early enough to allow him access to the stadium where his team were on the verge of history. Then we have optimistic expectations but based on a lot of work." Win, lose, draw -- Emery immediately sensed that there was urgency, ambition and grit about the Yellow Submarine project. Villarreal were on a promotion mission that, by 1967, would see them wriggle their way back into the third division, and there's a lovely faded black-and-white photo of a fan banner held up by first-team players on the day which reads: "The Yellow Submarine is Advancing At Full Steam." Emery, a Basque-born footballer of workmanlike ability, is a good witness to what his boss has achieved. I experienced the final by myself because my kids were in Poland, my brother was in Poland; everyone was in Poland. I watched more or less alone because my wife finds it very tense. There's a presumption that because the club have only become world-known over the last sixteen or so years the nickname is a modern creation. Relegation, from which the club bounced back with rubber-ball speed, was the most painful experience for him across this magical quarter-century. But 2006, the last time the Yellow Submarine reached the Champions League semifinal, was the more brutally iconic image. Like his brother and sister-in-law, he is a billionaire. On the day when the Beatles' publicity machine for their Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby release went into overdrive, Villarreal were in Spanish football's fifth tier.

Here is a preview of the two ties at this Final Four stage and what I predict will happen. Manchester City vs Real Madrid (first leg April 26, second leg May 4).

Los Blancos are runaway winners in La Liga, but their expected goal differential is second-best in Spain and suggests that Real Madrid is a bit fortunate to ...

Madrid’s best path to success in this fixture is to sit back and allow City the lion’s share of possession. Los Blancos are runaway winners in La Liga, but their expected goal differential is second-best in Spain and suggests that Real Madrid is a bit fortunate to have such a big cushion over Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Manchester City and Real Madrid begin their two-leg Champions League semifinal on Tuesday afternoon.

The stars are out at the Etihad, where the Premier League leader and La Liga leader go head-to-head with a place in the Champions League final the endgame.

Then, City held on for a scrappy 1–0 aggregate win over Atlético Madrid in the quarterfinal. However, Real Madrid eliminated City in the 2016 semifinals on a tight 1–0 aggregate en route to its first of three straight Champions League titles. Then, in the quarterfinals, Real eliminated defending champion Chelsea in extra time after blowing a 3–1 aggregate lead.

The Blues have reached only their third Champions League semi-final, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, and Atletico Madrid already beaten ...

As expected, Pep Guardiola explained in yesterday's pre-match press conference that Kyle Walker and John Stones had not trained with the rest of the City squad and were major doubts for the clash. Manchester City Diego Simeone's La Liga champions were beaten in the quarter-finals, with Kevin De Bruyne's lone goal at the Etihad enough for City to earn progression.

Kevin De Bruyne's superb header has given Manchester City an early lead in this Champions League semi-final first leg.Manchester City: Ederson; Stones, ...

The bookmaker's odds suggest that Manchester City and Liverpool are likely to be the two teams contesting the Champions League final. Manchester City have made four changes from their demolition of Watford at the weekend. As talk rages on about where Mahrez will be playing his football next season, he has been given the trust of his manager this evening. This evening's clash has all the hallmarks of a classic Champions League clash. Success is what every footballer craves as a youngster and then when they get their break at the top level. It is unlikely the England regular would have got a look in had Cancelo not been suspended but such is the scenario that he and Guardiola find themselves in. Rematch.— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 26, 2022 We are just 20 minutes away from kick off in the first of the two Champions League semi finals. We are just moments away from kick off in Manchester as the two teams make their way out onto the Etihad pitch. That is exactly what Guardiola would have wanted as Mahrez clips a perfect cross into the Real Madrid penalty area where De Bruyne is on hand to bravely nod beyond Thibaut Courtois. Although, they do seem relatively happy to let City control the ball in rather ineffective areas. City have doubled their lead and De Bruyne is once again at the heart of it.

The excellence achieved in the era of Klopp and Guardiola in England's north-west has seen Liverpool and City persistently rewrite the record books.

Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 (Semi Final Leg 1) - Liverpool vs. Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 (Semi Final Leg 1) - Man. City vs. The excellence achieved in the era of Klopp and Guardiola in England's north-west has seen Liverpool and City persistently rewrite the record books. It is unbelievable what he is doing." Real Madrid and Villarreal stand in the way of Manchester City and Liverpool taking their battle for domestic honours to the biggest stage of all next month in the Champions League final. The excellence achieved in the era of Klopp and Guardiola in England's north-west has seen Liverpool and City persistently rewrite the record books.

Carlo Ancelotti doesn't seem bothered by hearing that Real Madrid isn't the favorite against Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals.

With Liverpool a potential opponent in the final, the path could hardly have been tougher. In 2020, City won both home and away in the last 16. The semifinals begin with the master of European soccer visiting an upstart.

Thirteen-time winners face Manchester City in the first leg of the semi-final at the Etihad Stadium.

We need to suffer, to stick together, when we have the ball, try to attack.” We need to suffer, to stick together, when we have the ball, try to attack. But maybe there are things we have they don’t have, I don’t know. Ancelotti: “We are very close to playing another final of the most important competition in the world and we are worried because we are facing a very strong team. Guardiola: “We have to have the desire to compete against them. “We have to have the desire to compete against them.

The critics say this must be the year Manchester City win the Champions League. The predictor says it's the most likely outcome with Liverpool not far ...

Their opponents shouldn’t expect the same. What that seems to be doing is giving their attackers some space on the occasion that they are attacking. Villarreal seem to know what they’re doing at this stage of knockout tournaments. One step at a time, and the Reds are at 85% to be playing at the Stade de France on 28 May. Unai Emery’s side held Bayern to 0.07 xG per shot over 180 minutes, while Julian Nagelsmann’s side settled for plenty of low-quality opportunities: They’ve had six or fewer high turnovers three times in the Champions League this season. They’ve had 10 or more in the remaining seven. Real Madrid have scored a goal from a high turnover in three straight games. Pep Guardiola’s side have allowed 24 shots on target in the entire competition. But the two Spanish teams they’ll face have just eliminated the last two European champions in Chelsea and Bayern Munich. It should be said their group contained an attacking-mad RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, but the recent form is nonetheless encouraging. Sixteen of them only played six games.

Manchester City did the double over Real Madrid in the 2019/20 Champions League round of 16...

In 2014, Kroos joined Real Madrid from Bayern. He continues to be one of the most important players for Madrid. In between, he had moved to Bayer Leverkusen on loan for a year in the 2009/10 campaign. The first leg, on April 27, is set to be an intriguing match up.

Manchester City take on Real Madrid at the Etihad in the Champions League tonight.

But we have the desire to play against them and take on this incredible test and we want to improve. This is the motive to do my job.” Reaching the final [last year] is a good lesson for us and for the future it will be good.” “If we have to compete with history, we don’t have any chance. We want to be ourselves.” And ahead of the game, Guardiola said: “We have to be so precise against them.

Minute-by-minute report: Join Scott Murray for updates as the two European heavyweights go toe-to-toe at the Etihad.

Kick-off at the City of Manchester Stadium is at 8pm BST. It’s on! It’s the last time they met, so surely those are the most pertinent numbers of all. Then a taking of the knee ... and City get the ball rolling. It’s quite the sight, the sound, the atmosphere. They were humped 5-1 at Hamburg in 1980; lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund in 2013; and then there’s the famous 5-0 spanking handed out by Milan in 1989. Pep Guardiola emerges from the tunnel and shares a moment with Carlo Ancelotti. The mutual respect obvious as they embrace.

"We will suffer" city coach Pep Guardiola has warned as he prepares his side against a team he calls "kings of the competition". City, finalists last year, ...

Now we are trying to be ourselves, to compete well, and we have to play two outstanding games to reach the final, and I hope we can do that." Meanwhile, the Merengue are dreaming of a final victory at the Stade de France after the one they won against Valencia in 2000. Asked what Manchester City must do to beat Real Madrid, Guardiola said "to be there in the last stages with the best teams in the world, in Europe, to be here is good.

Samuel Chukwueze has been on the periphery of Villarreal's campaign but could play a significant part in stunning Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane's Liverpool.

We need to suffer, to stick together, when we have the ball try to attack.” Defeating Juventus was an unexpected result and getting the better of FC Hollywood was a huge statement. Since then, Salah has scored twice and assisted as many, signalling a return to something close to his finest. Chukwueze had only three touches of the ball but that was all he needed to score on his Champions League debut. Getting the better of this Liverpool side will be a dream even for a side not alien to a giant-killing like this Villarreal side. He was on the pitch for six minutes, yet there was time to put the icing on what was the side from the province of Castellon’s first win in the competition in 10 games.

Real have won Europe's top trophy a record 13 times while City remains in search of their first Champions League title after losing in the final to Chelsea last ...

The live streaming of the Champions League semi-final match between Manchester City and Real Madrid will be available on SonyLiv. The Champions League semi-final match between Manchester City and Real Madrid will be played at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Where is the Champions League semi-final match between Manchester City and Real Madrid going to be held?

Team news and tactics for City v Real, Liverpool v Villarreal, RB Leipzig v Rangers and West Ham v Eintracht Frankfurt.

Centre-back Obite Evan Ndicka is suspended following his dismissal in the second leg win at Barcelona this month, while Kristijan Jakic is also banned for the trip to London. Tuta is available following a ban of his own and should deputise for Ndicka in Eintracht’s three-man backline. Djibril Sow returned from injury off the bench against Hoffenheim on Saturday, so should cover for Jakic in the middle of the park. Emery has an able deputy for the striker in Arnaut Danjuma, who scored both goals in that 2-0 win over Valencia and has scored against Juventus and Bayern Munich in the Champions League this season. He won the Europa League with Villarreal last season and his team has already seen off Juventus and Bayern Munich in the Champions League this year. That depends on Aaron Ramsey’s fitness, however, after the Welshman missed the win over Motherwell. His presence would be a huge boost for Rangers. Filip Helander, Ianis Hagi and Nnamdi Ofoborh are all absent. Tedesco has revitalised their season but Rangers can take heart from the fact that RB Leipzig have won only two of their last seven home games. Liverpool did the double over Spanish opponents in the group stage, beating Atlético Madrid home and away, and they are strong favourites against Villarreal, who are seventh in La Liga. Liverpool may be without Roberto Firmino but their squad now has the depth to cope without one of their regular front three. They have won their last four games in La Liga to all but clinch the title; they are 15 points clear of Barcelona and Sevilla with five games to play, and will be crowned champions if they avoid defeat to Espanyol on Saturday. Federico Valverde played both legs against Chelsea on the right wing and should join Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior on the frontline, with Marco Asensio and Rodrygo available from the bench if required. After their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool this month, City have just the Champions League and Premier League to focus on. CJ Egan-Riley has experience in the Champions League, though the teenager’s sole appearance came against Sporting when the two-legged affair was over as a contest.

Both clubs' tendencies were on full display, leading to a seven-goal thriller and an open-ended set of potential outcomes entering the second leg.

We performed really well the first one, you have to do it the second one. Pep Guardiola had reacted with fury to the Mahrez miss, largely because he went for goal when he could have squared it to Foden who would have had an open goal, but that response showed that he knew the game was not won at 2–0, no matter how dominant City seemed. It missed opportunity after opportunity, although it won the shot count only 16–11 and the shots-on-target count only 6–5. Not for the first time in a big game in Guardiola’s career, it felt like an opportunity had been wasted; both league games against Liverpool this season went the same way. When it took on a more natural shape, City looked like much the better side. And that it lost only 4–3 to a Manchester City that threatened at times to outclass it said much for its remarkable stickability. Madrid for long spells simply couldn’t get out, while every turnover threatened to become an opportunity for the hosts.

Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were on target for Pep Guardiola's men, who should have scored many more. But Karim Benzema's ...

Benzema was the coolest man in the stadium as he chipped the spot-kick down the middle to leave the tie on a knife-edge headed back to the Spanish capital. Again City failed to put the tie to bed as Mahrez was inches away from finding the far corner from the narrowest of angles. But his decision to break from the mould of the past two seasons and play Jesus as a central striker was inspired as the Brazilian ran the Real defence ragged.

UEFA Champions League, Manchester City vs Real Madrid Live Updates: Manchester City beat record 13-time winners Real Madrid 4-3 in an epic Champions.

The ref was about to blow the whistle for a free kick, but the ball came to Silva so the ref waited. A good cross in from De Bruyne, but it was too tight for Laporte to shoot any other way. Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller to take a slight one-goal advantage going into the second leg in Madrid next week. Bernardo Silva again made it 4-2 for City with a brilliant finish in the 74th minute, before Karim Benzema scored his second goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute. Manchester City have a slender lead to defend in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid after winning a thrilling first leg 4-3 at the Etihad on Tuesday. The English champions could live to regret not killing off the 13-time winners after taking a two-goal lead three times. It is going to be an exciting second leg in Madrid for sure.

Karim Benzema was in a confident mood after scoring a brace that helped keep Real Madrid alive in their Champions League last-four tie against Manchester ...

"It was not a good result because they scored four goals against us, this is never good. We fell 2-0 down but were mentally strong to fight back." "Losing is never good and we care a lot about winning the Champions League this season.

Liverpool faced Everton at the weekend and came away with the points that they needed in the Premier League. Next up, Jürgen Klopp needs a Champions League ...

The problem was that they could do little with it and were clinically punished for mistakes at the back. In the first leg of their quarter-final in Spain, Villarreal had 38 per cent possession and one shot on target, from which they scored. It took 62 minutes for Liverpool to find the opening goal, and a patient approach was required.

Based on Tuesday's evidence, scoring at least once at Santiago Bernabeu is not beyond Real Madrid. They countered an onslaught from Manchester City ...

The Brazil international remains a key piece for Los Blancos, and at least two of City's goals could have been avoided with his vigilance. The balance that he brings to Real's midfield is inimitable and his presence would certainly have helped to avoid the quickfire efforts which arguably cost the Spanish giants this game, but not the overall tie. Bernardo Silva spectacularly re-established the two-goal cushion entering the final quarter of an hour and then Benzema cut the deficit again from the penalty spot with a sublime panenka. Based on Tuesday's evidence, scoring at least once at Santiago Bernabeu is not beyond Real Madrid. They countered an onslaught from Manchester City impressively to emerge just one goal down after a breathless 4-3 first leg. Real looked a shambles at that point. City go to Madrid a goal to the good in the UEFA Champions League semifinals after a wild opener at Etihad Stadium and it could easily have been over before it even started.

Shabab Al Ahli booked their place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw with Iran's Foolad in Jeddah earned the ...

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Nick Hennion of The Action Network provides a preview + best bet for Wednesday's Champions League semifinal between Liverpool and Villarreal.

Add in Liverpool’s defensive numbers in the Champions League and I don’t believe Villarreal are capable of grabbing more than a single goal. Plus, for as strong as Liverpool’s attack has played in the Champions League, I would expect some tired legs here. At the same time, though, Villarreal’s attack has proven somewhat reliable of late. The 2019 UCL winners have created 19.5 expected goals through 10 fixtures, the second-highest mark amongst the four semi-finalists. That came in the second leg against Benfica with the tie virtually wrapped up. Hosts Liverpool, which knocked out Benfica in the quarterfinals, are sizable favorites for the opener.

City and Real Madrid produced a Champions League semi-final few who witnessed it will ever forget.

Plus: Karim Benzema delivers yet another decisive Champions League performance, showing why Real Madrids hopes rest on his shoulders.

It's not easy in the semi-final of the Champions League to shoot a penalty like this." Then, with Madrid's hopes of qualification fading, he produced a sublime Panenka penalty for his ninth Champions League knock-out goal this year. "I always have it in my head that if you don't take a penalty, you will never miss a penalty," he said afterwards. You can tell his emotions are overly heightened when it comes to Manchester City and winning the Champions League. Play for free, entries by 7:45. Against Lyon in 2020, Guardiola decided to play Rodri and Fernandinho and his side were eliminated. If Real Madrid are to produce a memorable comeback against Manchester City and then go on to win a 14th Champions League title - and Benzema's fifth - then they will need him to keep being at his best. Manchester City continue their quest for the Premier League title with a trip to Leeds on Saturday evening at 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports. City hold a one-point lead over Liverpool, who visit Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime. His manager Carlo Ancelotti added: "I think he changed because the last two penalties were not good. The striker marked his 600th appearance for Real Madrid with yet another fine display to bring up his 13th and 14th Champions League goals of the season - and further strengthen his case for the Ballon d'Or. He set up City's second goal with a diagonal cross for Gabriel Jesus from City's left flank and, had it not been for the profligacy of his team-mates, he would have ended the game with more than one assist to his name in addition to his goal. Yes, Real haven't managed to progress through a semi-final in this competition when losing the first-leg but no team shoot themselves in the foot like Manchester City do when the going gets tough in the Champions League.

After one of the greatest of Champions League semi-final clashes, Manchester City will take a 4-3 lead into the second leg of their tie against Real Madrid ...

But we take three goals to the Bernabeu. We now hope to get to the final." "As a football fan, it was a fantastic game of football. Yet again City found a way through. Unfortunately we conceded goals and we could not score more. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The Champions League semifinals have begun and the first leg started with Manchester City and Real Madrid. Heres a rundown of what happened during the ...

The two teams came out fighting but Manchester took home the win after defeating Real Madrid 4-3. Goal number two was not far behind. Oh, but that’s not all. De Bruyne has once again proved his relentless rigor, making this his seventh goal during his Champions League glory. The first was during the Round of 16 match with Real Madrid in 2020, next was during the 2020 quarterfinals against Lyon and then in 2021 during the Round of 16 against Gladbach. Then came his goal during the 2021 quarterfinals against Dortmund, the 2021 Semifinals against Paris and the 2022 quarterfinals against Atlético. And now the 2022 semifinals. Arguably the best team in the world, Manchester City, took on Real Madrid in the first game of the first leg of the semifinals.

István Kovács has been appointed to oversee the Champions League semi-final first leg clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium ( ...

Seeing Kovacs in charge of such an important match is a bit odd, as he seems to lack the experience to referee huge games. István Kovács has been appointed to oversee the Champions League semi-final first leg clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium (Tuesday, 9:00pm CEST). It will be the first time that the Romanian official takes charge of a madridista fixture in the competition. UEFA have appointed Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs as the man in charge of the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League Semifinals.

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City squad could not get out of the Estadio do Dragao quickly enough after losing last season's Champions League final ...

City used to be able to argue that they were the new kids on the block, battling to catch up with the established elite. It is debatable whether playing in the Premier League continues to be a disadvantage to clubs like City, though. They are top of the Premier League, with key players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Raheem Sterling and Ederson all fit and on top form. Not all the competition we face in the Champions League has that.” Even accounting for the time needed to build the club up following the takeover, City have still failed to punch their weight. “The short answer is, yes we should win it [Champions League] in the next 10 years, and obviously sooner rather than later,” Al Mubarak told ESPN. “But it’s hard.

Manchester City will be going up against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals on 26 April hoping to get a hands on the elusive title.

Manchester City and Real Madrid, two powerhouses in world football, will be up against each other in the semi-finals of the Champions League this season. He is in the best moment of his career. He understands every part of the game and is scoring goals, important goals," he added.

With his cheekily dispatched “Panenka,” Karim Benzema might just have kept Real Madrid's chances alive against Manchester City in the semifinals. Advertisement.

Benzema now has 41 goals in all competitions in the most prolific season of his career. “It is a defeat,” Ancelotti said, “that leaves us alive in the second leg.” “It doesn’t matter if you are one goal, two goals or three goals ahead.” With Madrid fielding a ball-playing midfield _ of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde _ that lacked the bite of injured Casemiro, City cut through the visitors at will and should have been further clear before Benzema steered a volley in off the post from Ferland Mendy’s cross in the 33rd. But he surely knows City should be out of sight and already preparing for a second straight appearance in the final and the chance to avenge last year’s loss to Chelsea. It was the coolest of penalties at the end of one of the wildest matches in Champions League history.

"We have to do a magical thing," said Karim Benzema after Real Madrid performed another Houdini act in the Champions League to escape only 4-3 down from ...

This time it took just 10 minutes for Madrid to be clinging on to stay in the tie. Once again it was left to Benzema to dig Los Blancos out of the mire by halving the deficit before half-time. It was the first time the City fans had something to cheer in a semi-final. Had City not successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, they would have been banned from the Champions League for the past two seasons. By contrast, this was just City's third trip to the semi-finals, but the English champions justified their status as tournament favourites on the night the Etihad Stadium may finally have warmed to the Champions League. Benzema set up what should be a special night at the Santiago Bernabeu on May 4 by scoring twice to take his tally for the season to 41 goals in as many games.

Pep Guardiola rued that his Manchester City team couldn't deliver the knockout punch on Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semis.

"But it is about reaching the final and sometimes football happens. All around the world and for Manchester City, we are so proud. At the same time, we saw ourselves that we can be there," he said. "Normally we are so safe and so good. "Football is a fantastic spectacle. "We played a fantastic game against an incredible team.

Soccer's elite teams have all trended towards all-out attack, but the Champions League has shown that elite defensive play is every bit as awesome.

Many fans -- perhaps even Atléti and Villarreal's own supporters -- would prefer to see these defensive sides break out of their shells and show a little bravery, but if every team plays the same style of football and the game becomes tactically homogeneous, we're left with something that's frankly not interesting, and loses its value as an entertainment product. Real Madrid, a matchup between two teams who wouldn't know how to sit back in a bunker in the unlikely event it was demanded of them, was a back-and-forth thriller with multiple goals for both sides in Tuesday's first leg at the Etihad. But it's just as intriguing to see Liverpool, a team that thrives on attacking quickly into open spaces, have to contend with a Villarreal team that's proven they can stifle Europe's best with their low defensive block. Everton was kind enough to give the Reds a test run in Sunday's Merseyside Derby, keeping Liverpool off the scoreboard (and with zero shots on target) until the 62nd minute by defending with all 11 men deep in their own half, but ultimately falling 2-0. And the style of play used by Villarreal boss Unai Emery in the quarterfinal maximized the talent of the players he had available. In midfielder Dani Parejo, Villarreal has a player who does not have the athletic qualities to succeed in a transitional game against a team of Bayern's quality, though he does have the passing ability to create dangerous attacks from a very small number of opportunities -- among central midfielders, he's in the 97th percentile for Expected Assists in Europe's top 5 leagues. A similar pair of matches played out between Villarreal and Bayern Munich, but with a bit more precision on the counter for the underdogs, which produced an even better result. Atlético Madrid, the one side that's consistently bucked all these tactical trends under manager Diego Simeone, opted to camp all 11 of its players within 30 yards of its own goal in the first leg of its tie against Manchester City. Phil Foden got City on the board once, but Atléti persisted with its tactics in the first half of the second leg, albeit with a bit more ambition on the counterattack. Liverpool match which team was managed by an innovator in how to play without the ball and which was managed by an innovator in how to play with it. But this has come at the expense of tactical variety, and there are very few true clashes of styles at the top level of the game. The quality that mid-budget teams in top leagues can display using this style is extremely impressive -- Serie A's Atalanta and Real Betis in LaLiga come most readily to mind -- and there are more teams than ever before that play in a way that is popularly referred to as "good football." If their quarterfinal performance against Bayern Munich is anything to go by, Villarreal is likely to set up in an extremely defensive system with all of their players close to their own penalty area and their opponents Liverpool will enjoy the vast majority of possession while trying to break down the "Yellow Submarine." Not all defensive football is anti-football, and Villarreal is adding a refreshing bit of diversity to a competition that doesn't feature as many different tactical styles as it once did.

While the other select few teams at their level prefer a patterned, tactical game, Madrid live for chaos. And it's their uncanny ability to drag opponents down ...

Presses are supposed to be compact and orderly, with players stepping forward together: when one leaves a line to close down, another fills the hole from behind, so that defenders only ever have to chase the ball forward (for them), toward the opponent’s goal. That’s how they got on the scoresheet half an hour in: a Thibaut Courtois long ball led to Vinicius chasing a back pass to Ederson, which led to another long pass from the City keeper, a second ball, some unpredictable 50-50s, and finally, a loose ball falling to Ferland Mendy, who picked out Karim Benzema for an incredible side-volley that felt totally accidental and also pretty much exactly how Ancelotti would have liked to draw it up. Knowing he couldn’t beat Vinicius in a footrace, Fernandinho looked to cut out the service to him instead. Madrid had been battered, outplayed, and demolished on the defensive end, but everyone expected that. Madrid forced the style with long balls to their dribbling wingers and hyper-aggressive pressing behind City’s back line every time they went backwards to Ederson to try to reset and calm things down. They don’t want to break forward when they don’t have numbers. Oleksandr Zinchenko had been doing his best Joao Cancelo impression, coming into the left half-space to orchestrate City’s possession from the full-back position and leaving Rodrygo alone behind him. The same pressing instincts and haphazard man-marking that led to City’s second goal also earned Madrid their first. On the other hand, here are some questions that might be harder to agree on: What the hell does any of that mean? But that would have meant playing an organised game, and Ancelotti didn’t think his side could win that war of attrition. While the other select few teams at their level prefer a patterned, tactical game, Madrid live for chaos. Here are some sentiments that are probably pretty easy to agree on: Real Madrid thrive on brilliant individual play.

It was a match which will be remembered as a Champions League classic. There were seven goals, one an outrageous penalty, plenty of chances and outstanding ...

Unfortunately we conceded goals and we could not score more. "As a manager of Madrid, I have to take into consideration that we ... conceded two goals very early. Kevin De Bruyne's superb diving header gave City the lead after just 94 seconds. "It was a fantastic game for both sides. It was a fitting way to end a special night. "As a football fan, it was a fantastic game of football," Real manager Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.

Villarreal are the one remaining side standing in Liverpool's way of reaching a third Champions League final under Jurgen Klopp.

Elsewhere, Kostas Tsimikas is a doubt after appearing to play no part in Tuesday afternoon's open training session. Unai looks like, if you watch his team, a detail-obsessed manager who prepares for all different situations in a game and that's what his team is executing." "Of course we did the proper analysis," said the Reds' boss.