Champions League: Liverpool hooked by Benfica but in the last four

Published on: 04/13/2022 – 23:29 Liverpool qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday after a goalless draw against Benfica (3-3). The English club will face Villarreal. Liverpool did not flinch despite the deluge of goals to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League. Largely victorious in the first leg (3-1 in Lisbon), the Reds only had to resist Benfica with a reorganized team (3-3) to join Villarreal in the next round. Between two confrontations with Manchester City, the one in the league (2-2) on Sunday and the other in the FA Cup semi-final next Saturday, Jürgen Klopp’s men are juggling their goals and this match seemed like an opportunity to turn around. worrying Liverpool defense? With a hinge Joel Matip-Ibrahima Konaté, flanked by Kostas Tsimikas and Joe Gomez, and Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané on the bench at kick-off, the priority of the week given to the Premier League was visible. The three goals conceded, however, suggest that this choice was not very wise. If the goal of Gonçalo Ramos (1-1, 32nd) is due to an involuntary back pass from James Milner, the other two, of the Ukrainian Roman Yaremchuk (3-2, 73rd) and Darwin Nunez (3-3, 82nd), are due to alignment errors. However, we cannot say that Liverpool shook much during this match, nor throughout the confrontation. With an attacking line made up of Roberto Firmino, surrounded by Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, the offensive power of the locals remained very consistent and was enough to ensure qualification. As in the first leg, Konaté opened the scoring with a header and from a corner (1-0, 21st). In the second half, Firmino converted, at the far post, two offerings from Diogo Jota (2-1, 55th) and Tsimikas (3-1, 65th) to put the Reds in a very comfortable position. The Reds are aiming for a quadrupleThere are there was a goal from Nunez in added time invalidated by the VAR and which would have offered a prestigious success to the Portuguese, but it is the club from the banks of the Mersey which enters the last four on all of the two matches. He will face the Spanish club of Villarreal who created the surprise by leaving Bayern Munich (1-0, 1-1), while the other half will face Real Madrid and Manchester City. focused on other trophies, with the Premier League where they are only a point behind the Citizens with 7 matches to play, and the FA Cup. Already winners of the League Cup at the end of February, the Reds are chasing an unprecedented quadruple but which leaves them no room for manoeuvre. With AFP