Liverpool took control of their Uefa Champions League quarterfinal tie against Benfica with a 3-1 win in Portugal while Manchester City will take a slender 1-0 lead into their second-leg against Atletico Madrid after a 1-0 win at the Etihad.
Benfica 1-3 Liverpool
Liverpool took charge of their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica on Tuesday as Sadio Mane, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz gave them a 3-1 lead after the first leg in Lisbon.
Konate nodded in his first Liverpool goal from a corner before Mane tapped home to put Liverpool in command at the Estadio da Luz.
Benfica made a game of it early in the second half when a Konate error allowed the lively Darwin Nunez to pull one back, but Luis Diaz, who was superb all night, added a late third to put Liverpool in sight of the semis.
Liverpool will be supremely confident of finishing the job at Anfield next week, with Jurgen Klopp comfortable enough to take off Mohamed Salah, Mane and Thiago Alcantara after an hour.
Salah, in particular, was surely being preserved for Sunday, when Liverpool face Manchester City in what could prove to be the decisive match in the Premier League’s neck-and-neck title race.
Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Kevin De Bruyne broke Atletico Madrid’s stubborn resistence as the Manchester City midfielder’s second-half strike clinched a 1-0 win in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Pep Guardiola’s side spent much of the night banging their heads against the red and white brick wall assembled by Atletico’s massed defence at the Etihad Stadium.
But Guardiola sent on Phil Foden midway through the second half and his sublime pass teed up De Bruyne to finally reward City for their territorial dominance.
While Guardiola launched a water bottle in a frenzied celebration that underlined what a testing night it had been for his team, the City boss will know the tie is far from over.
At the start of a season-defining 11 days for treble-chasing City, this was a qualified success that justified their patient performance.
But Atletico have already knocked out Manchester United in the last 16 this season, while Liverpool fell victim to Diego Simeone’s side when the Reds were the holders in 2019-20.
The Spanish champions will still believe they can cause another surprise in the second leg in Madrid on April 13.