Progress to the Champions League semi-finals ensured. Hopes of winning a record-breaking quadruple crown remain alive. In the midst of a busy schedule, key players took a break. Liverpool is in a strong position to finish off what may be the club’s best season ever.
Contents
In Spite of Giving Up Two Late Goals in a 3-3 Home Draw with Benfica, Jurgen Klopp was still in Good Spirits.
After witnessing his club move from the quarterfinals 6-4 on aggregate on Wednesday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated, “The day we qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League and I’m not satisfied, please come here and knock me out.”
Klopp rested key players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in what turned out to be a chaotic, end-to-end encounter against Benfica at Anfield after Liverpool won the first leg 3-1 in Lisbon last week.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Mo Salah’s goal-scoring drought persisted. Liverpool’s talisman in recent seasons, an Egyptian attacker who once again went scoreless on Tuesday, has scored only once in his team’s last seven games and hasn’t scored a goal in open play since February.
Salah’s current deal is slated to end in June 2023, and there have been rumours about his future with the club due to Liverpool allegedly failing to match the player’s wage demands.
After being taken off at the hour mark, the 29-year-old cut a dejected figure, and Klopp later revealed that he is experiencing a “difficult phase.”
When asked about his decision to sub in Salah, he responded, “I did nothing different from what I typically do.” A bit more of your sympathies lie with the benched players if the game is already settled. Give a clap if the game is still open like it was, and we can talk about the remainder afterwards.
Manchester City defeated Atlético Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal match played at home.
In Conclusion
Diego Simeone’s team gave City a run for their money, but the game turned once Phil Foden came on in the 68th minute.
Two minutes later, the score was broken by the Englishman’s combination with Kevin De Bruyne. Foden threaded a brilliant through pass to the Belgian, and De Bruyne scored emphatically across Jan Oblak.
Although this is not the outcome that Pep Guardiola was aiming for, both teams will believe they have a legitimate shot at making the semifinals.
