Real Madrid through to the semis

Real Madrid went into the match with a 3-0 advantage inspired by Ronaldo’s brace in the first leg. That was then, Mandzukic came into the match and scored in the 2nd minute just as Salah did last night. Juventus were out for blood in the Bernabeu and were pushing for more. Real Madrid had their fair chances as well even though a couple of them were ruled offside and the rest were saved by Buffon. The Old Ladies seemed to have the perfect recipe for success as they score the second through Mandzukic again. Real Madrid clearly missed a force in Ramos at the back as the defence looked disorganized and failed to deal with their opponents’ play. Zidane made big calls at half time as he replaced Gareth Bale with Vazquez and removed Casemiro for Asensio. Still, Juventus had the upper hand. Navas was forced to make a save from Higuain’s effort from 20 yards after the player took a shot on the half-turn. The match was intense and saw more than 7 yellow cards being flashed by Michael Oliver who was officiating on the night. Douglas Costa then crossed the ball from the right and Navas looked to have saved the ball before it slipped through his hands and it bounced off Matuidi’s knee and into the net. 3-0 it was and Real Madrid were nervous. Zidane made his final call from the bench and replaced Modric with Kovacic in a match that looked to be heading for extra-time. Little did we know that a big decision would be made by Michael Oliver as he pointed to the spot when Vazquez looked to be pushed by Benatia in the box. The game paused for a while as Juventus players took 3 minutes of the time, protesting at the decision which resulted in a red card being flashed at Buffon. So much for the final bow for the player who is rumored to be retiring at the end of this season. Eventually, the big man had to step over it and finish Juventus off. Ronaldo’s penalty hit the back of the net in the top right corner and Szczęsny  (the backup goalkeeper) guessed right but he could not stop the effort. 3-1 it ended and Real Madrid are through to the semifinals. This goal makes it 10 for Ronaldo against Juventus which means that he is the highest goalscorer against a single team in the history of the UEFA Champions League. Lionel Messi is just behind with 9 goals against Arsenal. Do you think Real Madrid deserved to go through?

Klopp hopefull ahead of Champions League date with Liverpool

As the debate about Salah vs De Bruyne for Player of the Year brews up, the Champions League could not bring a better opportunity to evaluate the two players up close in a more competitive tournament. The two have been outstanding this season with Salah leading the scoring charts and De Bruyne likewise leading the assist charts. Both players have been crucial to their team’s performances this season and Manchester City are looking the more threatening team ahead of the tie against Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp spoke to the media today with a message of warning to Guardiola and his team that his team can hurt them. Manchester City travel to Anfield on Wednesday and Klopp is looking to make things as uncomfortable as possible for the Premier League Champions Elect. The Liverpool manager is basing his argument on his high-pressing style of play which often gets the opposition to panic and lose the ball in dangerous areas. It will be interesting how this would affect a City team that is based on Pep’s principles of playing the ball from the back.

Klopp is quoted to having said, “The way we attack the opponent, the way we defend high is unpleasant (four our opposition). If we do that they will have some difficulty coping with it.”

It is clear that the Liverpool manager is trying to play mind games ahead of the clash and it is such a shame that the master of mind games, Jose Mourinho, and his team are already out of the competition having been knocked out by Sevilla in the round of 16. It is important to note that Liverpool once suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of this Manchester City team in September and they will be looking to redeem themselves once more after being the first team to defeat Guardiola’s team in the league with a 4-3 win in January. Klopp is expecting more goals. We are expecting many goals in this clash. Brace yourself for one of the juiciest clashes in the UCL.