Champions League

Latest updates from the Man City versus Real Madrid semi-final first leg taking place at Etihad Stadium in England.

Man City 2-0 Real Madrid Man City 2-0 Real Madrid Man City 2-0 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-0 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid Man City 2-1 Real Madrid

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

UEFA plans to give two Champions League places to teams that didn't qualify based on their historic record in Europe when the tournament expands to 36 teams ...

“We are just a small club, a middle-class club in Germany, and we are not the voice of all the European clubs,” Hellman said. We could give the other middle-class clubs a voice and organizing an initiative with some other clubs, and that’s something we are working on.” “If you’re participating in the Champions League, your coefficient gets higher and higher and the shop is more closed,” Hellman said in a video call on Monday. “So I do not believe that should be the right requirement to participate in the European competitions.

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."

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).

The Champions League is down to four clubs, two from the Premier League and two from La Liga. Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Villarreal will battle ...

Then there's West Ham, who cannot reach the Champions League places in England, so their only route to the Champions League is by winning the Europa League (and look how well that path has worked out for Villarreal!). They're facing a Frankfurt team that sits in ninth place in Germany with a goal differential of -2. While they've played well in the Europa League, they're not likely to provide much of a threat to the Hammers in London. Pick: West Ham and RB Leipzig to win (+156) Rangers getting this far in the competition is a credit to them, but they aren't in the same league as Leipzig, and I can't imagine they'll go to Germany and come away with a result. I see the value on a parlay of the likely winners. Villarreal are a great story and an excellent example of what a club can accomplish when the entire organization is in line and follows a vision. Villarreal's problem is that Liverpool are a club very much in the same mold, but with more money and much better players. After all, Liverpool did allow four goals in two matches against Benfica and have allowed at least one goal in seven of their 10 Champions League matches this season. Like the last round against Chelsea, I want to take the over, but I fear what Carlo Ancelloti did in the Round of 16 against PSG. He sent Real Madrid out there and had them playing like Sean Dyche's Burnley squad. The good news is Villarreal are strong enough in attack that I believe they can get at least one goal of their own more often than not. In other words, a pragmatic approach against City might not work out nearly as well as Ancelloti hopes, so I'm betting on City finding the back of the net at least twice. I can't guarantee anything, but I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The Champions League semifinals begin this week, and while Manchester City and Liverpool are the heavy favorites to move on and give us an all-England final, Real Madrid has been written off a few times in this tournament already, and it's still here.

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.

Sydney must win both of their last group games and hope other results fall their way to progress to the ACL knockout rounds.

Sydney had a handful of chances to claw their way back into the game, particularly after the exit of Ryotaro Tsunoda who received a red card for a professional foul on Patrick Wood in the 64th minute, but substitutes Bobo and Trent Buhagiar both missed opportunities to cut the deficit. - Melbourne City are second in Group G and look likely to progress after a 1-1 draw on Sunday - They must win both of their last games, and hope other results go their way, in order to progress to the knockout rounds

Former Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has come back to haunt Sydney FC as he guided Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos to consecutive wins over the Sky ...

City will be in the middle of pre-season at that time so will need to maintain their sharpness if they are a hope of going any further in the competition. Unsurprisingly, reigning A-League Men champions Melbourne City have so far performed much better in the AFC Champions League. Corica's side have scored just one goal so far in the AFC Champions League and their form mirrors recent domestic struggles with the club poised to miss out on the A-League Men finals.

Carlo Ancelotti admitted Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro is a doubt ahead of tonight's Champions League semi-final first leg and played down suggestions his ...

'If you are not compact you will suffer,' he said. 'Success is reaching the final where we have a good chance of winning it.' Asked if he felt confident about being able to name his strongest side he said: '[Ferland] Mendy is fine.

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.

Madrid have again defied rational explanation through incredible rollercoaster victories in the Champions League against PSG and Chelsea.

It is very possible that we will win the Champions League again this year, not just for the quality of the players, but their spirit, their competitiveness, and the confidence with which they have been playing in recent games.” “I remember training in the stadium the night before and getting used to the environment around the place before it. It is difficult for all the teams in the Champions League to have the same confidence level for the whole game. The Italian’s substitutions in the second legs against PSG and Chelsea this year helped his team through both ties, with the surprise decision to replace the control of Kroos with the energy of 19-year-old Eduardo Camavinga against Chelsea working spectacularly well. “It was a fantastic team, fantastic players — and the final was at the Bernabeu. That was a big pressure. “Madrid have a lot of maturity now — they have a good mix between older and younger players,” Puel says. That is why Real Madrid players have to be very well prepared, not just in a football sense, but mentally.” “The current Real Madrid team is a historic team – winning many trophies, three consecutive Champions Leagues,” he says. The idea that “90 minutes at the Bernabeu is very long”, first coined by Madrid forward Juanito in the 1980s, also became part of club folklore. That is why we have won more trophies than any other team, and are the best club in the history of football.” It is an incredible symbiosis of the fans with the players and with the club, to transform yourselves in this competition, from European Cup to Champions League, to make history.” “Those of us who have played at Real Madrid always know that this is a complicated club, very difficult to play for,” Mijatovic says.

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 ...

You can add BT Sport to your package for only £15 a month (plus a £20 joining fee). You can cancel the subscription at any time. It brings coverage of football, rugby, cricket, UFC and more, plus access to BT Sport Ultra HD for 4K viewing. Enjoy the English Premier League, Champions League and more through the BT Sport app on smart TVs, mobiles, tablets, games consoles, Chromecast or through the BT Sport website. If you're hooked up specifically on the BT TV platform then it's also available in with Dolby Atmos sound. Even if you have subscribed to the relevant Liverpool vs Villarreal live stream rights holders, you won't be able to access them when outside your own country. For the Big Bundle, which includes all the Sky Sports too, it's £40 per month – more expensive, granted, but you'll never miss a match again. For the Champions League, you may wish to choose 'USA' for Paramount +. This UK-only pass gets you full access to all the BT Sport channels for a simple monthly fee. You can use it to watch on your mobile, tablet, laptop, TV, games console and more. Liverpool will be eyeing a spot in this season's Champions League final when Villarreal come to town on Wednesday night. Villarreal have already dumped Juventus and Bayern Munich out of this year's competition but a trip to Anfield represents their greatest challenge so far.

Man City host European heavyweights Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. City are looking for their first major European trophy ...

Paramount+ will stream the match in English. Casemiro was in the same position, but is only judged fit enough to make the bench. The trio that have seen Madrid to European success in the past has been broken up by the change, but it remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola can find a way to take advantage. 20 mins from kickoff: With his history in this competition, you'd think that Karim Benzema will have a large part to play in this tie. Valverde has done a good job filling in gaps in the defensive line. He passes the ball across goal for a teammate to get a touch, but Carvajal is in position to clear. It comes to him quickly, and he manages to divert the ball towards the centre of goal, but Carvajal has got himself in the way, and City can't convert. Mahrez showed quick feet in the area to dance through the Madrid defenders, but his shot is just wide of the post. Play pauses as Zinchenko is tripped, but the referee plays advantage, and Bernardo Silva is the quickest thinker in Manchester! He latches onto the loose ball and flashes a shot past Courtois, at the 'keeper's near post. A ball in from the right takes a little flick from Sterling, who came on for Jesus, and Dias stretches for it at the far post. When his side have been in this position in the past, Guardiola has perhaps made one change too many. Karim Benzema has already shown his class in this competition, and his performance against Paris Saint-Germain was eye-catching.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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 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.

Jurgen Klopp's side take on Villarreal after Pep Guardiola's team host Real Madrid in first leg of semi-finals this week and there are record sums on offer ...

In a statement UEFA said: “10,000 of the tickets reserved for the fans of the two teams will be offered for free to reward the lifeblood of the game for their loyal support during the pandemic. The final will take place at the Stade de France on Saturday, 28 May with both finalists receiving an allocation of 20,000 and 12,000 more going to those who have applied via the ballot. The Premier League ’s top two face Villarreal and Real Madrid respectively in the first legs of their last four ties this week. The ticket sale and allocation process for the tickets reserved for the fans of the finalist teams will be organised by the clubs involved, including the allocation of the free tickets.” And the finalists get €15.5m (£13.1m) with €4.5m (£3.8m) for the champions According to a breakdown of prize money from football-coefficient, Jurgen Klopp’s side have made €89.1m to date with Pep Guardiola’s side earning €88.8m (£74.8m). Chelsea, who were knocked out in dramatic fashion by Real a fortnight ago, made €81.8m (£69m). Both finalists will receive €15.5m (£13.1m) with the champions getting an additional €4.5m (£3.8m).

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.

'Wouldn't have a chance': City's long-time flaw may expose them again says Real boss — CL LIVE.

“Being in the semi-final is so good,” he said. But maybe there are things we have they don’t have, I don’t know. It’s a success to win the final in this competition. We need to suffer, to stick together, when we have the ball, try to attack. Normally if Real Madrid reaches the final, they have a good chance of winning.” “That’s why they have things that maybe still we don’t have.

It's England vs Spain in the Champions League semifinals. English teams Manchester City and Liverpool are up against Spanish teams Real Madrid and ...

Liverpool has much more pedigree in the competition and is looking to win it for a seventh time, which would match the total of AC Milan. Madrid is trying to return to the final for the first time in four seasons and City is looking to reach its second consecutive final and continue its quest for a first Champions League trophy. Now Emery has got Villarreal, which is languishing in seventh place in the Spanish league, to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 2005-06 season, where it lost to English opposition in Arsenal.

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?

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

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The Spanish press christened the match "La Remontada" -- the comeback to end all comebacks. The match also helped convince Neymar that he needed to leave Barca ...

But that astonishing result at Camp Nou in 2017 accelerated the trend, to the point where we are now not as surprised by such events as we once were. Results were already trending toward more comebacks in the years immediately before Barca's Remontada, with five two-goal deficits overturned in the previous four seasons alone. And just last month, almost exactly five years to the day since Barca's heroics, Real Madrid staged their own Remontada against PSG as Karim Benzema's second-half hat trick saw the 13-time champions progress against all odds. But still, even then, habitual comeback victims PSG managed to get their own taste of a European reversal by beating Dortmund 2-0 in Paris to win their tie 3-2 in one of the last matches played before football across the continent ground to a halt. PSG itself and Borussia Dortmund's 4-0 win over Benfica after losing the first leg 1-0, which was happening at the very same time as history was being made in Catalonia, that's still 12 comebacks at a rate of 2.4 a year. PSG, when a Monaco side featuring Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho and Thomas Lemar overcame Manchester City 3-1, having lost 5-3 at the Etihad. In the past five years, it's happened three times, with Barca twice finding themselves on the receiving end after their amazing comeback. But it also proved that, when it comes to the Champions League, anything can happen. Given what has happened in the competition since, you wouldn't bet against one of this season's semifinalists staging a miraculous comeback of their own if required. Barca came into the second leg of their round-of-16 tie vs. This, after all, is a team that got knocked out of the Europa League the other week. When the Champions League semifinals begin this week, with Manchester City hosting Real Madrid on Tuesday and Villarreal travelling to Liverpool the following night, none of those clubs are likely to be taking inspiration from Barcelona. And why would they?

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.

Karim Benzema was the man of the moment but it wasn't enough In a wild Champions League match semi-final.

Benzema kept his composure while all around him were losing theirs, giving Madrid renewed belief of reaching a first final since 2018. In between, Benzema had gotten his now-customary goal in the Champions League, clipping a volley in off the post from Ferland Mendy's cross in the 33rd and City was living dangerously at times — especially goalkeeper Ederson when he dallied on the ball. Benzema had the final say on the night by converting a penalty after Aymeric Laporte's handball to become the competition's top scorer on 14 goals and continue the best scoring form of his career, with 40 in all competitions this season.

Footballing giants Manchester City and Real Madrid turn it on in their Champions League semi-final first leg, with Pep Guardiola's men gaining the advantage ...

Benzema kept his composure while all around him were losing theirs, giving Madrid renewed belief of reaching a first final since 2018. For manager Pep Guardiola, whose team has taken all before it in domestic football with three Premier League crowns and a number of cups, the one thing missing from his CV at Manchester City is a Champions League trophy to go with the two he won coaching Barcelona. In between, Benzema had gotten his now-customary goal in the Champions League, clipping a volley in off the post from Ferland Mendy's cross in the 33rd and City was living dangerously at times — especially goalkeeper Ederson when he dallied on the ball.

Manchester City have become football's most exciting team, but their cavalier ways could cost them after failing to put away Real Madrid.

Real have shown real spirit and determination at the Bernabeu in the knock-out stages, fighting back from losing positions to eliminate both PSG and Chelsea in previous rounds, so City will be entering the Lion's Den. But their most dangerous opponent will be themselves if they fail to defend properly. It's a good test for us -- we have to show our personality in the game next week and we will play to win." City were 2-0 ahead after 11 minutes following goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus and at that stage, Real's heaviest-ever European defeat -- 5-0 losses against AC Milan and Kaiserslautern -- looked likely to be erased from the record books. City just kept chasing another goal and another goal, but you cannot be so adventurous and reckless against a team of Real's calibre and forwards as ruthless as Karim Benzema. "But it's not a big advantage and hopefully our supporters can help us on to achieve another final." Pep Guardiola's team have become football's most exciting team, but their sense of adventure could cost them the prize they cherish above all others after ending up with a 4-3 first-leg win in a classic encounter which felt more like a missed opportunity.

As the semifinals begin, is English club success inevitable?

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. 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. 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. 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.