Benfica 1-3 Liverpool, Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Liverpool proceed to the 2nd leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final with a healthy 3-1 win against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
It wasn’t smooth sailing, as the Reds were made to labour despite racing to a 2-0 first-half lead due to an improved second-half performance from the Portuguese side.
A two-goal lead courtesy of Ibrahima Konate and Sadio Mane was halved by Uruguayan forward, Darwin Nunez in the 49th minute.
But an 87th minute strike from ex-Porto forward, Luis Diaz restored Liverpool’s two-goal lead to put the Reds firmly in control of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final fixture with Benfica.
Liverpool have a potential title-deciding clash against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday, while Benfica host Belenenses on Saturday.
Manager’s Reaction
Jurgen Klopp: “In the end, coming here in an away game in the Champions League is tough. Obviously, Benfica fought for their lives.
“We opened the door a little bit too much but they deserved the goal as well, even when we could have defended probably better. It’s not that we had absolutely no situations before.
“It was a tough game, what I expected, especially when they scored, the crowd was there immediately. We knew it, we always know it, 2-0 is nothing, it’s nice but not more.Â
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“They scored the goal and it was much more open than we wanted but, in the end, we should have scored [more] in the first half, could have scored in the second.
“They played a really good game but the goalie was anyway the best player, he made a couple of really good saves. That’s it, we won it, two goals up, half-time, not more, not less, let’s keep going.”
Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid, Etihad, Manchester
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone made the headlines again as he refused to shake hands with City boss Pep Guardiola after the final whistle, following his side’s 1-0 loss to the Cityzens.
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Atletico in their characteristic defensive setup sucked the life out of the game for Man City, with the match seemingly destined for a draw. But substitute, Phil Foden set up De Bruyne with a delightful through ball, with the Belgian scoring his 13th goal of the season.
Managers’ Reaction
Pep Guardiola: “It’s a good result fortunately. At the end we had one or two more chances with Kevin to score more goals, but even 1-0 or 2-0 to go to Madrid it is always difficult. But good result, we won the game.”
Diego Simeone: “You always have to come up with something better. It’s a long match, divided into two parts, here and at home. They don’t care, they’ll play the same way. They’re possibly the best team in the world. But with humility we’ll compete.“
