On Wednesday, April 12, regular first matches of the quarter-final stage of the Champions League were held in Madrid and Milan. We will remind, the day before Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich, and Inter beat Benfica away from home.
Champions League. ¼ final. The first matches
“Real” (Spain) – “Chelsea” (England) – 2:0 (Benzema, 21, Asensio, 74). In the 59th minute, Chilwell (Chelsea) was sent off.
In the previous two seasons of the Champions League, the opponents crossed each other in the play-offs, and Madrid never managed to beat the “blues” on their field. This time, the “curse” was lifted – Carlo Ancelotti’s men had the advantage from the start of the match and turned it into a goal in the 21st minute, when Benzema finished the ball into the goal from close range after a shot by Vinicius and a save by the goalkeeper. This goal became Karim’s 90th in the most prestigious club tournament of the Old World, and in terms of performance, he is surpassed by only three – Ronaldo (140 goals), Messi (129) and Lewandowski (91).
The visitors found themselves in an unenviable position after the break when they found themselves in the minority following a foul by Chilwell’s last hope. Having a numerical advantage, the “creamy” scored one more time – Asensio scored only three minutes after coming on as a substitute. As a result, “Real” will go to the return match with a comfortable two-goal lead and good chances to advance to the semi-finals.
Finally, we should note that both Ukrainians – “Madrid” Lunin and “London” Mudryk – spent the entire match in the reserves of their teams, never entering the field of “Santiago Bernabeu”.
“Milan” (Italy) — “Napoli” (Italy) — 1:0 (Bennaser, 40). In the 75th minute, Angissa (Napoli) was sent off.
If the recent defeat by Milan in Serie A (0:4) will probably not affect Napoli’s championship ambitions this season, the situation is completely different in the Champions League. And now, after the first match, the “Rosso-neri” are already favorites in the confrontation – at the “San Siro”, the hosts won thanks to the only goal of Bennasser at the end of the first half, which became the debut for the Algerian midfielder in the tournament.
Let’s add that the return matches in London and Naples will be held on April 18.
Earlier, “FACTS” reported that “Real” humiliated “Barcelona” at “Camp Nou” and reached the final of the Spanish Cup.
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