The second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals kick off this week, with every team still with a chance of reaching the semi-finals. This weekend saw a number of important clashes in domestic leagues, with the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich bouncing back form their first leg defeats in big style.
Liverpool v Benfica
Liverpool
Liverpool twice came back from behind in arguably the biggest game of the season against Manchester City to secure a 2-2 draw at the Etihad. While Jurgen Klopp’s men were far from their best, goals form Diego Jota and Sadio Mane ensured they remained one point behind Pep Guardiola’s side, in a clash that many believe would decide the title. Both clubs play each other again next week in the FA Cup semi-final, so expect another thrilling encounter as Liverpool continue to chase the quadruple.
LEVEL!!
Diogo Jota equalises for Liverpool! 👊
How many goals are we going to have here? 👀💥 pic.twitter.com/US3pFMFtSb— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 10, 2022
Benfica
Benfica bounced back from their disappointing first leg defeat to Liverpool with a 3-1 victory over Belenenses, with star player Darwin Nunez scoring a hat-trick. Top scorer in the Portuguese top flight with 24 goals, Nunez is set to command a huge transfer fee, with the 22-year-old linked with a move to the Premier League. With Benfica in third and having a poor season domestically, expect them to throw everything at Liverpool at Anfield, trailing 3-1 in the tie..
🎥🤩 O hat-trick de @Darwinn99 frente ao #SLBBSAD!#EPluribusUnum
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) April 10, 2022
Atletico Madrid V Manchester City
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone’s side suffered a 1-0 loss to relegation threatened Real Mallorca on Saturday. With only six points separating second-place Barcelona and sixth-place Real Sociedad, the race for Champions League qualification will go to the wire in Spain. With Atletico currently sitting in fourth place, a point ahead of Real Betis, a win could have eased the pressure heading into the second leg against City.
Instead Simeone's men will try to conjure a famous result on the back on consecutive losses.
Manchester City
As mentioned above, City were held to a 2-2 draw against top of the table rivals Liverpool at the Etihad. City twice took the lead through Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus but were pegged back by Liverpool to remain one point clear of the Reds. City dominated the first half and thought they may have won it when Raheem Sterling put them ahead in the second half, but it was ruled out for offside. The Champions League is the one trophy missing from their cabinet, so they will be determined to see through their first leg advantage.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti’s side took one step closer to La Liga glory with 2-0 victory over Getafe. Goal from Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez saw them keep their 12-point lead at the top with seven games to go. With a 3-1 lead in their back pockets coming into the second leg against Chelsea at the Bernabeu thanks to Karim Benzema’s hat-trick, Real will be confident of their chances of progressing to the semi-finals.
Real Madrid continues top of La Liga after beating Getafe 2-0 thanks to Casemiro and Vazquez ..#HalaMadrid | #RealMadridGetafe
pic.twitter.com/MyejKNvimD— ZIZOU (@zizou_910) April 9, 2022
Chelsea
Chelsea bounced back from their disappointing first leg loss to Real Madrid with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Southampton. Goals from Marcus Alonso, Kai Havertz, and two each from Mason Mount and Timo Werner sent a strong message ahead of the trip to the Bernabeu. Thomas Tuchel’s side have a huge ask on their hands if they are to turn around the first leg deficit, with the performance at the weekend perhaps giving him something to think about regarding team selection.
Right place, right time! 👌 pic.twitter.com/NWnAkSJF8P
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 10, 2022
Bayern Munich vs Villarreal
Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski’s 32nd league goal this season insured a 1-0 victory for Bayern over Augsburg. Victory saw them stay nine points clear of rivals Borussia Dortmund as they seek their 10th league title in a row. A shock 1-0 defeat in the first leg means they have work to do in the Allianz Arena.
Villarreal
Unai Emery’s men were brought back to reality with a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Despite their success in Europe, it has been a disappointing season for El Submarino Amarillo. Currently in seventh place and 11 points off fourth, Champions League qualification is unlikely. However, with one giant killing over Juventus in the last 16 complete, they will not fear Bayern ahead of Tuesday’s second leg.
First goal of the season for @Alfonsopedraza9! ✅
Watch the last 10 minutes of #VillarrealAthletic LIVE on #LaLigaTV. 📺🍿 pic.twitter.com/nPDF6awYSu— LaLigaTV (@LaLigaTV) April 9, 2022
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