Bayern Munich 2-3 PSG
Choupo-Moting 37 ′ Mbappé 3 ′, 68 ′
Muller 60 ′ Marquinhos 28 ′
The teams that reached last year’s final showed why they are perhaps the two best teams in Europe. They put all their quality into this quarter-final, the hosts taking the initiative and the visitors playing on the counterattack. Bayern Munich dominated most of the game and had more chances. And yet, Mbappé was the figure last night, scoring two goals and missing a head-to-head against Neuer.
Lewandoski’s injury proved fatal for the Germans, who missed his effectiveness in front of goal. PSG’s early goal forced Bayern Munich to take more risks, and led by Coman they generated plenty of attempts, but the Frenchman’s second goal seemed an impossible mountain to climb.
And yet, Choupo-Moting and Muller managed to draw, until Mbappé scored his second and final goal of the match. From that moment until the end, the Germans had a better chance of winning at least one well-deserved draw. They failed and now have to defend their title in France, set to win for at least two goals.
Porto 0: 2 Chelsea
Mount 32 ′
Chilwell 85 ′
Porto started to play quite offensively in the first half, but they paid for their mistakes. Chelsea defended and took the chance to almost doom the draw. While there are no big surprises in the second leg, Londoners will reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2014.
Certainly, they have proven to be a great team in Europe this season, beating Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Porto away from home without conceding a goal in those matches. Their extraordinary ability to play as a team, their passing style and their enormous pressure pay off.
Meanwhile, Porto had surprised by beating Juventus in the last round, but this time they failed in both areas. Maybe they didn’t deserve to lose last night, but their lack of efficiency proved fatal.
Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
Vinícius 27 ′, 65 ′ Salah 51 ′
Asensio 36 ′
The Champions League match with more European cups in history (19 titles between the two teams) saw the redemption of Vinícius, the Brazilian player who had been faked on social networks because of his striking misses. He scored both goals and was a constant threat to Liverpool’s weakened defense. The result was exactly the same as it was three years ago, in the 2018 Champions League final, when Gareth Bale had an unforgettable over the head kick.
The hosts started to play a dynamic style, in which Kroos was superb in the midfield. He gave Vinicius the first goal and controlled the pace of the game. Despite the failures of Ramos and Varane, Militao and Nacho proved strong enough to stop the attacks from Mane, Jota and Salah. The Egyptian scored the goal in the Reds’ lone shot the entire match.
Overall, real Madrid dominated most of the game and could easily have scored a few more goals if Asensio had been more clinical in front of Alisson. Despite Liverpool’s last efforts when Firmino entered the pitch, Liverpool lost again in Spain, as in the last two seasons, to Atletico and Barcelona. As they were able to overcome an astonishing 3-0 loss in 2019, Klopp will surely bring this game back to his players to reach the semi-finals.
Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Kevin De Bruyne 19 ′ Marco Reus 84 ′
Phil Foden 90 ‘
Pep Guardiola is set to return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2016 after winning the first leg by a small margin. Despite more chances than their rivals, Manchester City suffered to find their way to the goal and will have to avoid a defeat in Germany. Marco Reus’ goal will keep his side alive and with a real chance of reaching a semi-final for the first time since 2013. His attacking partner, Haaland, did not have his best night yet was able to participate in the goal. from Dortmund.
It was a common game was by Manchester city: a huge possession (62%), a super De Bruyne, who was the man of the match after scoring the first goal and dominating the game, and some mistakes in the back. It will be interesting to see if Haaland is able to score in Germany after his name has been linked with a possible move to Manchester City. Certainly the leg is wide open and an exciting game in Dortmund is expected.