Four (4) teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Semi-final after two days of quarter-final action came to an end today.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Roma are the four teams to advance after legendary performances. Roma and Liverpool kicked off the upsets yesterday as they knocked out Spanish giants Barcelona and English powerhouse Manchester City.
Barcelona came into their quarter-final with a 3 goal cushion after a 4-1 victory in Spain and Roma was already ruled out by most fans. That’s until Kostas Manolas delivered the tie-winning goal ending the match 4-4 on aggregate with Roma going through on away goals.
Unlike Roma, Liverpool secured their spot in grand style after going into the second semi-final with a 3 goal cushion and winning the match 2-1 with goals from Egyptian, African Player of the Year, Mohamed Salah, and Brazilian, Roberto Firmino, sending Liverpool to their first Champions League semi-final in over 10 years. Although the match ended 5-1 on aggregate, a big controversy over a disallowed goal scored by Leroy Sane in the 41st minute, left the Man City manager, Pep Guardiola in frustration as he verbally attacked the match officials at the end of the first half where he was later dismissed to the stands.
In the third quarter-final, a goalless draw between Bayern Munich and Sevilla, saw Bayern go through to the semi-final after a 2-1 victory in their previous matchup.
And in the most anticipated quarter-final today, Cristiano Ronaldo gathered the composure to net home a penalty in the closing minutes and lead his team to a 4-3 victory on aggregate over last year’s finalist Juventus.
Real Madrid may be well on their way to making history again by capturing their third straight UEFA Champions League Trophy. Let’s wait and see.
