Borussia Dortmund-Manchester City 1-2
Respected predictions and matchups in the dream Champions League semifinals. Manchester City risks for a while but in the end manages to overturn Borussia Dortmund 2-1 and earn the passage of the round, where Paris Saint-Germain awaits him for a double confrontation that should not make us regret the emotions of the quarter-final between the French and Bayern Munich. The young Bellingham deceives the Germans in the first half, Mahrez’s penalty and Foden’s seal put things right for Guardiola’s battleship in the second half.
Liverpool-Real Madrid 0-0
Real Madrid also arrives in the semifinals, playing a shrewd and intelligent match against Liverpool, forced to 0-0 and thus greet the competition after the 3-1 defeat of the first leg. The Reds end up in the cage orchestrated by Zinedine Zidane, for a Real that does not shine but is tremendously effective from the waist down. And in view of the challenge at Chelsea, Zizou is confident that he will also recover some big players, such as the great former Hazard and the two central owners Varane and Sergio Ramos.
Liverpool started strong and built a first chance with Salah and shortly after with a shot from outside Milner rejected by Courtois. Real let the English to vent at the start but after about twenty minutes found the measures and, indeed, built the best scoring of the first half. Benzema after stealing the ball from Phillips sows panic in the area, his attempt ends on the base of the post thanks to the deflection of Kabak. The Reds travel in flames and after an interlocutory phase they return to sting at the end of the first 45 ‘, with a double chance of Salah and Wijnaldum, who kicked high from a favorable position. Even in the second half, Zidane’s team, 3-1 strong in the first leg, continues its management game, turning the ball to sleep the match without risking to uncover too much. Firmino lacks the winning spurt in a couple of situations, while on the opposite side it’s up to Alisson to save his team on Vinicius launched in the open field and then on Benzema. In the last twenty minutes, Klopp also threw Diogo Jota into the fray, turning to a hyperoffensive 4-2-3-1. Real struggled to get out of halfway, the onslaught of the English produced a shot by Firmino blocked by Militao and a coil by Diogo Jota walled by the defense. But in the end, it’s the guests who celebrate.
Instead, the other English team, Manchester City, smiles, seeing the specters of a sensational elimination for more than a time but in the end overturns Bellingham’s opening goal by conquering Signal Iduna Park 2-1. The Gialloneri start very strong and after a central attempt by Dahoud they break the deadlock in the 15 ‘with a joker from Bellingham, freed in the area from a rebound after a raid by Dahoud. The Citizens thus find themselves in pursuit and risk doubling down on a deflected shot from Reus and a header from Akanji. It’s up to De Bruyne to take the guests on his shoulders: the Belgian talent first hits a sensational crossbar, then puts in the middle a poisonous cross on which Morey risks his own goal. Guardiola’s team melts as the minutes pass but Hitz is careful both on Mahrez’s attempt and on Zinchenko’s header. In the second half, the City exploits the technical superiority on the pitch and turns the game on its head. A naive touch with Emre Can’s arm on Zinchenko’s cross costs the penalty coldly converted by Mahrez, Borussia accuses the blow and risks collecting 2-1 from De Bruyne – on which Hitz is overtaken – and from Rodri, who splinters the crossbar. The Germans suffer from the dribble of their opponents and only touch the goal on an inactive ball, with a header from Hummels. This is how Foden finally closes the qualification speech, who with a powerful shot from outside (on which Hitz does not excel this time) signs the goal that definitively sends the Citizens to the semifinals. The curse of the quarter-finals is lifted.