The dates for the Champions League semi-finals have been determined for Liverpool and Manchester City.
Liverpool and Manchester City have both advanced to the Champions League semi-finals this season, where they will face Villarreal and Real Madrid, respectively.After reaching the competition's last four, Liverpool and Manchester City have found their way to the Champions League final.
Last week, the Premier League's best both got the job done with first-leg victories before frenetic draws on Wednesday, with Liverpool drawing 3-3 at Anfield with Benfica and City grinding out a tense 0-0 tie on the road against Atletico Madrid. The Reds will now play Villarreal in their semi-final, with the first leg taking place at Anfield and the second leg taking place at El Madrigal.The Citizens begin on home soil as well, with the burden of defeating 13-time champion Real Madrid, who eliminated Chelsea in dramatic extra-time on Tuesday. On Tuesday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 27, the opening legs of the semi-finals will be played. Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4 will be the rematches. The Stade de France in Paris will host the final on Saturday, May 28. The extravaganza was initially set to take place in St Petersburg, but it was rescheduled following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Liverpool were forced to work hard by their opponents, as Jurgen Klopp made seven changes from the dramatic 3-3 draw with Manchester City on Sunday. Like in the first leg, the Reds took an early lead through Ibrahima Konate. The defender sprang to his feet to meet Konstantinos Tsmikas' in-swinging corner and got Klopp and his teammates off to a flying start.
Benfica, on the other hand, were level on the night only 11 minutes later. Diogo Goncalves picked out Goncalo Ramos and sent a low shot past Alisson. The equalizer was given after VAR investigated for offside, and the contest was far from over at the break.Benfica's hopes were destroyed shortly after halftime, when Roberto Firmino took advantage of a blunder by goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos, who was then followed by a failed clearing that fell to Diogo Jota. Firmino reclaimed the lead as the ex-Porto man played him through.With another Tsimikas assist, the Brazilian added a second 10 minutes to put the tie to bed, but not before Roman Yaremchuk equalized for the Portuguese giants and threatened to salvage a point on the night. They achieved just that in the 82nd minute through star scorer Darwin Nunez, but their efforts went unrewarded.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, it was a completely different story, with Pep Guardiola's side dominating possession and a tenacious Atletico battling to take the second round to extra-time. Even though the game ended in a goalless draw, it turned into a true pitch battle when the two teams got into a mass brawl in the dying embers.After being fouled by Felipe, Atletico defender Stefan Savic attempted to haul Citizens star Phil Foden back to his feet, earning Savic a yellow card and Felipe a second booking before 13 minutes of injury time on another hectic night of Champions League football. The semi-finals' exact dates and kick-off timings will be announced in due time.
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