The first leg quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League have concluded with some surprises. Every game delivered a high quality of soccer and entertainment. Each team gave it their all but for some of them it was not enough. Here are the results of the first leg matches of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool
Real Madrid breezed through a Liverpool team who looked deflated since the start of the match. Los Merengues were without central defender, Rafael Varane, who tested positive for Covid-19. Also, they did not have their captain, Sergio Ramos, and their starting right back, Daniel Carvajal. Even with these absent players, Los Blancos dominated the match from the get-go.
Vinicius Jr. had a night to remember as he scored twice and played a magnificent game. He was finally efficient in front of goal and silenced many critiques on not scoring on important games. Marco Asensio scored the other Madrid goal on an incredible mistake from Alexander Arnold.
However, Liverpool managed to get an away goal from Mohamed Salah in which they have a slight chance to try and salvage their UEFA Champions League campaign. It will be tough for Liverpool who did not look their best and now must score two goals and not concede any to advance to the next round.
Indeed, the second match will be a nail biter as Liverpool will have to look for two goals, while Madrid will counterattack with their deadly players. No doubt the second leg will be a great one with plenty of drama and goals.
Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund
Pep Guardiola was almost shocked if it wasn’t for a late goal from Phil Foden, who managed to get the winning goal in the 90th minute of the match. The Citizens managed to open the score with a Kevin De Bruyne goal in the first half. Even though they were not playing that well, they led the game with a brilliant team goal.
The Black and Yellow’s kept attacking throughout the whole match, but just couldn’t find the end of the net. Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson, kept denying the German side until finally he was beaten in the 84th minute by Marco Reus. It was a fantastic team built up and they managed to finally get their away goal that they were looking for.
In the end, the English team took the win, although it is just a narrow win. The German side will be happy with the result and will look to score a goal and advance to the next round. City will be under pressure as they are the favorite ones to win this match and the title. No doubt the second leg will be an incredible one.
Bayern Munich vs. PSG
The German side started off strong ultra-attacking the French team, but Kylian Mbappé scored the first goal of the match in just three minutes. Goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, made a costly error in trying to block the ball, but couldn’t manage to get the ball away from his goal. To make things worse, Bayern conceded another goal in the 28th minute by defender Marquinhos.
Bayern Munich were frozen, but not by the snow that was falling, they were just shocked, and they really were missing their top goal scorer, Robert Lewandowski, who was injured. Also, they missed Serge Gnabry who tested positive for Covid-19. Nonetheless, Bayern still has incredible players and Choupo–Moting, who is on loan from PSG, scored in the 37th minute. This gave the German side a boost of confidence for the second half.
Indeed, this ignited a full out attack from Bayern who dominated the match but not the scoreboard. Finally, in an hour of play, Thomas Muller, tied the match and it looked like Bayern were in route to win the match. However, Mbappé managed to score once again just eight minutes from Bayern tying the match. This was the dagger that knocked the German beast down who just couldn’t come back from this deficit.
Keylor Navas stopped almost everything that came to his way and proved why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. No question the second leg will be entertaining as the first as Bayern will be looking to score twice while PSG will counterattack with a deadly trio up front.
Porto vs. Chelsea
The Portuguese side came from a surprise win and knocking out Juventus in the previous round. However, their luck looked like it ran out against the English side. Chelsea opened the score in the 32nd minute from a brilliant play by Mason Mount. Chelsea was not playing very well but were efficient in front of goal.
Porto kept attacking but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Minutes kept passing by and yet they were still trailing by a goal. To add to their bad luck, Ben Chilwell managed to get the Blues a second goal with five minutes remaining in the match. Porto did not take advantage of their opportunities and that is not acceptable in the highest competition in the world.
Chelsea looks like heavy favorites in the second leg, but they must keep their heads focused as Porto can produce another shocking result. Yes, the second leg will be a great one and we will see if Porto can cause another upset along the road.
Exciting Second Legs
We will get to see some great matches and will get to see if any team can that is facing a deficit can come back and win. PSG will try to dethrone the reigning champions while Madrid will try to consolidate their advantage. Chelsea will try to add to their away win, while Dortmund will try to get a major upset and knock out Guardiola and his Manchester City squad. All in all, these matches will be magnificent and worthy of watching from beginning to end.
