Dortmund continue to hold firm against a few waves of City attacks and go in ahead at the break thanks to Jude Bellingham’s early strike. Since that moment it’s been all City, who could argue they should be level.
The Bundesliga side look exhausted from their first half effort!
City upped the ante after Dortmund took the lead and the German side had to keep up with them to ensure they held onto their lead.
While Dortmund don’t have as much depth on their bench as City, they look like they need some fresh legs in the second half.
De Bruyne may have been everywhere for City in attack, it’s Bellingham that looks to have covered the most ground.
But if Dortmund keep things like this, they’ll set up a semi-final against PSG. More work for City to do, but they’ve shown they’re far from ready to throw in the towel.
Jude Bellingham puts Dortmund 1-0 up against Man City!
It’s an immense half of football it is goalless at Anfield at the break and so Madrid’s two-goal advantage remains intact.
Liverpool have performed well, and have had chances to reduce the deficit with Salah, in the opening minutes, and Wijnaldum passing up the best opportunities.
Liverpool are blistering, but can’t put the ball in the back of the net. In truth they should be at least three up.
Real Madrid’s hostile reception from Liverpool fans led to a smashed window in the hours building up to the two sides Champions League quarter-final second leg.
According to the Mail, Liverpool fans lined the streets close to Anfield to give an intimidating welcome to the Spanish champions as flares were set off to see the Madrid bus drive through the red haze.
But the damage was more than just obscuring the vision of the driver as the outer screen of the window was damaged with reports from Spanish media of missiles causing the breakage.
In a statement following the incident, Liverpool said: “We condemn unequivocally the actions that led to Real Madrid’s team bus being damaged during its arrival to Anfield this evening.
“It is totally unacceptable and shameful behaviour of a few individuals. We sincerely apologise to our visitors for any distress caused.
“We will work together with Merseyside Police to establish the facts and identify those responsible.”
Real Madrid arrived on Merseyside with a 3-1 lead from the first leg but they will be wary of Liverpool’s record in famous turnarounds in Europe at Anfield.
Much of Liverpool’s success in those games has been influenced by the noisy home support but this match remains without fans and behind closed doors.
That did not stop some gathering in the streets close to Anfield before the game and reports, originally from Cadena COPE, stated that missiles were thrown from home fans at the Real Madrid bus, leading to the window damage.
Public gatherings of more than six people are currently prohibited due to coronavirus restrictions but many supporters came out on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the two teams.
This would not be the first time Liverpool fans have targeted a visiting team’s bus for a European tie.
Back in 2018 at this same stage, Man City’s coach was struck by bottles and cans as it drove into Anfield.
On 14 April 2009 Chelsea and Liverpool played out one of the most memorable Champions League games of all time.
The teams were meeting in Europe’s elite competition for a fifth consecutive season and the Blues kicked off the quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge
With the Blues winning the first leg at Anfield 3-1 the previous week, the Reds had it all to do in the return fixture if they wanted to make the semi-finals.
They gave it a good go in fairness, going 2-0 ahead in the first half before Didier Drogba’s deft finish and rocket from Alex levelled things up on the night. Frank Lampard then made it 3-2 before Liverpool rallied.
Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals on this day in 2009 after a thrilling 4-4 draw with Liverpool secured a 7-5 aggregate win.
But Guus Hiddink’s side went 2-0 down in the return and survived a huge scare before sealing their place in the last four against eventual winners Barcelona.
Petr Cech’s positional gaffe allowed Fabio Aurelio’s free-kick to give the Reds a first-half lead and Xabi Alonso’s penalty put the visitors in control at the interval.
Another goalkeeping error, this time from Liverpool’s Jose Reina, saw Didier Drogba pull one back for Chelsea early in the second half.
The hosts then equalised on the night through Alex’s thunderous free-kick before Frank Lampard steered home Drogba’s cross and appeared to put them out of sight, 6-3 up on aggregate.
But Liverpool were not finished. They levelled through Lucas Leiva’s deflected shot and went 4-3 up on the night two minutes later through Dirk Kuyt’s near-post header.
With seven minutes remaining, the Reds needed one more goal to complete a stunning win on away goals.
But Lampard, teed up by Nicolas Anelka, scored his second of the night to make it 4-4 in the 89th minute.
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FC Porto head coach Sergio Conceicao claims he was subject to insults following Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Chelsea, while opposite number Thomas Tuchel sought to play down the row that occurred after the game.
Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate despite losing the last-eight second-leg contest in Seville 1-0 courtesy of substitute Mehdi Taremi’s sensational late overhead kick.
Tempers flared somewhat after the full-time whistle at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, with the respective coaches and a number of players involved in a brief post-match spat, report the Evening Standard.
Quizzed about that flashpoint in his post-match press conference, Porto boss Conceicao said: “I don’t know about the reaction, I couldn’t quite understand what he [Tuchel] said,” he said.
“There were some insults, it happened, it was not nice and that’s why I was irritated and was worried about my players.
“Our defensive performance was wonderful. We limited them as much as we could and we tried to score goals.
“We were superior in both matches but we lacked that bit of efficiency.
“I’m proud of our efforts in the competition overall but obviously not happy, because we have lost.”
Meanwhile, Tuchel shrugged off the incident after his side booked a place in the last four of Europe’s elite club competition, where they will face either LaLiga giants Real Madrid or Premier League rivals Liverpool.
“It was just a little argument with me and their coach, and everybody was following me suddenly,” said Tuchel.
“I thought it was between me and the coach, but obviously it was not so. But no harm done there.”
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted that he got “nervous” after Mehdi Taremi’s screamer.
Tuchel added that Mateo Kovacic got injured before the game and will miss Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, which is why he had to risk with N’Golo Kante.
Tuchel said: “I was still nervous because a goal can change anything, even if it is a crazy goal or bicycle kick like this, it can happen.
“I can imagine both games were not the nicest games to watch on television, I can totally accept, but it is very hard to play your best game against Porto.
“He [Kovacic] had a little injury out of nothing. I am sure he is out for the City game as well, very sad for him.
“We took the risk with N’Golo, maybe not a risk but the situation. We put him on the field and hoped he had the energy for 90 minutes.
“N’Golo is incredible, he is like one-and-a-half or two players, everyone loves him. He wins so many balls, gives everybody confidence. We were not sure if N’Golo would have started today but now it is time to recover good”
Chelsea got past FC Porto to reach the semi-finals despite a 1-0 home defeat to the Portuguese.
The tie was never in doubt, as the Blues had won 2-0 away in the first leg, but a spectacular stoppage-time Mehdi Taremi bicycle kick was at least some consolation.
The Sun rate the Blues in the match:
Edouard Mendy – 6
Dodgy moment on the ball in the first half that almost gifted Porto a goal.
He soon settled back into the game though and made some important catches and saves in the second half.
Could do very little about the winner.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7
Had some defending to do as Porto pushed for a goal, but organised his backline well and gave some good contributions further forward.
Thiago Silva – 8
Comfortable deep at the back and was the main man Mendy used to play out under a very high and intense high Porto press.
Antonio Rudiger – 8
Chelsea needed his intensity and pace tonight and he stood up to the challenge, making some good tackles and winning headers as well as some good leadership.
Reece James – 7
A few misplaced passes, but his strength was much needed against an aggressive side.
He was really up for the fight in the second half and helped the defence out well.
N’Golo Kante – 8
Mr Interceptor lived up to his name once again and he was pinnacle for breaking down Porto’s possession.
His ball-playing was neat and tidy as well.
Jorginho – 9
The Italian was well up for this game and was matching Porto’s aggression and intensity.
Jorginho was getting stuck in to challenges and was a real orchestrator playing out of the high press.
Ben Chilwell – 7
A poor bit of defending early on almost allowed Porto in, but his overall play was excellent once again and his pace at the back and in the attack was pinnacle.
Mason Mount – 6
A little quiet in the first half and didn’t really get involved as much as Tuchel would have liked.
Mount barely improved in the second half either in a rare quiet game.
Christian Pulisic – 8
He was the victim of numerous fouls from Porto players and really should have got more protection from the ref.
Was a constant threat for Chelsea and perhaps that’s why they kept fouling him every time he got the ball.
Kai Havertz – 6
Isolated all night. Had some neat little touches and involvements on the ball, but didn’t have much to work with to be fair.
The Manchester United defender named Chelsea legend Ashley Cole as his main influence growing up.
He said: “I think, looking back at when I was growing up and my sort of era, and watching him a lot and basing my game a lot on him and what I wanted to be like as a player, then I would have to say Ashley Cole.
“I’ve always been a massive fan of him and thought, when I was growing up, he was one of the best left-backs at that time.
“For me, as an all-round full-back he was one of the best I’ve ever seen with attacking and defending, so I’d say Ashley Cole.”
Andre Cury has explained how they missed out on Vinicius Jr and Rodyrgo when it seemed certain the Brazilian pair would move to the Nou Camp instead of Real Madrid.
The young forwards, both 20, are rising stars in Zinedine Zidane’s first team, with Vinicius in particular in the midst of a good run of form having scored twice last week in the Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool.
Vinicius moved to Madrid from Flamengo in 2018 while Rodrygo opted for the Spanish capital from Santos a year later but Cury – who was head of Barca’s scouting operation in his native Brazil – told Spanish outlet SPORT, via the Mail- of how different it should have turned out.
“With Vinicius, we were three and a half years ahead of Madrid,” he explained.
“His agents, Frederico Penna and Stefano Hawilla, who had reached a commitment with Barcelona, betrayed us. The client of his company was us and not Madrid. I had a huge friendship with them, to the point of being best man at weddings and baptisms.
“At the key moment of the operation, they stabbed us in the back. Fifteen days before signing for Madrid, here in Brazil Vinicius said that he was a Barca fan, that his idol was Neymar and that [Lionel] Messi was better than Cristiano [Ronalo]. Then he said what he wanted after he went to Madrid.
“Vinicius’ father and his agents were in Barcelona. Wagner Ribeiro called Florentino [Perez] to let him know. And he invited them to go to Madrid on Saturday. They told us they would go, but that nothing would happen because the footballer was already committed to Barcelona.
“There was a commitment by word of mouth. The agents returned to Barcelona, closed the final agreement with us, shook our hand. And then they disappeared and betrayed us.”
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