Champions League: Man City beat Dortmund, Madrid trump Liverpool to return to semis

Pep Guardiola shared an emotional second with purpose scorer Phil Foden as Manchester City ended its run of failure within the Champions League quarterfinals Wednesday, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 for a 4-2 mixture win.
Jude Bellingham scored to place Dortmund on track for an upset win earlier than City hit again by way of a penalty by Riyad Mahrez and Foden’s purpose.
Guardiola reached the semifinals with City on the fifth try, matching the membership’s greatest ever end result underneath his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini in 2016. City goes on to face Paris Saint-Germain.
“For the club it’s so important, we cannot deny,” Guardiola mentioned. “Of course we want more.”
He praised PSG for knocking out “the best team in the world” — Bayern Munich — within the quarterfinals, “so we will see what will happen.”
Guardiola mentioned Tuesday he anticipated to be labeled “a failure” if Dortmund turned the fourth membership in a row to remove City in a Champions League quarterfinal, after Lyon final yr and earlier than that Tottenham and Liverpool. Monaco beat City within the spherical of 16 in 2017 in Guardiola’s first season.
Dortmund’s goalkeeper Marwin Hitz fails to cease a shot by Manchester City’s Phil Foden throughout the Champions League quarterfinal second leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City on the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. (Federico Gambarini/Pool by way of AP)
“We are incredibly happy today to reach the semifinals,” Guardiola informed broadcaster Sky. ”The guys deserve it as a result of what they’ve carried out on this season is unimaginable.” Guardiola added that City would have fun with “a lot of wine tonight” earlier than making ready to face Chelsea within the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday.
Bellingham, Dortmund’s 17-year-old English midfielder, put the German membership forward when he scored within the fifteenth minute after City defender Ruben Dias blocked Mahmoud Dahoud’s shot. That leveled the mixture rating 2-2, with Dortmund forward on away targets.
Bellingham turned the second-youngest participant to attain in a Champions League knockout sport at 17 years, 289 days. Bojan Krkic was 72 days youthful when he scored for Barcelona in opposition to Schalke in 2008.
City then laid siege to the Dortmund purpose, with Kevin De Bruyne hitting the crossbar. And Dortmund handed City the breakthrough early within the second half when Emre Can gave away a penalty by heading a cross onto his arm. Mahrez put City again in management when he blasted the Fifty fifth-minute spot kick into the highest proper, previous stand-in goalkeeper Marwin Hitz.
Dortmund was sad with the penalty name in opposition to Can, per week after Bellingham had a purpose dominated out within the first leg in disputed circumstances.
Manchester City vs Dortmund Highlights:

Chasing one other purpose to pressure further time, Dortmund pushed up, however might solely muster an off-target header from Mats Hummels at a free kick. City took benefit of the area which opened as much as stress Dortmund.
Foden, who additionally scored within the first leg final week, made positive of the win within the seventy fifth with a low shot previous Hitz from the sting of the field off a brief nook routine. He ran straight to Guardiola on the touchline to have fun with a hug.
The loss means Dortmund might face an exodus of gifted younger gamers on the finish of the season. Part of the enchantment to abilities like striker Erling Haaland and ahead Jadon Sancho — the latter injured for this sport — has been Dortmund’s constant Champions League appearances as a approach to develop their expertise and exhibit to potential patrons. With Dortmund sitting fifth within the Bundesliga, it’s on track for the far much less interesting Europa League.
Madrid beats Liverpool to return to Champions League semis
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, left, jumps for the ball with Real Madrid’s Nacho throughout a Champions League quarter last second leg match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Zinedine Zidane has proven Jürgen Klopp simply the right way to flip a season round.
Zidane is main Real Madrid into the semifinals of the Champions League. Klopp will end the season with no trophy.
A 0-0 draw at Anfield within the quarterfinals on Wednesday protected a 3-1 benefit from the primary leg for Madrid. The report 13-time European champions are again within the semifinals — the place Chelsea awaits — for the primary time since 2018 when Zidane lifted the European Cup for a 3rd consecutive season by beating Klopp’s Liverpool within the last.
“We’re all pulling together,” Zidane mentioned, “and this side always does that and it always wants more.”
Real Madrid vs Liverpool Highlights:

The victory within the 2018 last was Zidane’s final sport earlier than ending his first stint in cost. He was tempted again in 2019 following disappointing outcomes, however this season unraveling only a few months in the past.
Trailing Atletico Madrid by 10 factors in La Liga in January, the defending champions are actually only a single level behind and the double is on.
“We have to be really happy with what we’re doing at the moment,” Zidane mentioned. “It’s been a complicated season.”
For Liverpool, it’s turning right into a depressing season — which is now positive to finish with no trophy.
It’s fairly a comedown for Klopp’s aspect, which received the Champions League in 2019 — after dropping the 2018 last to Madrid — and ended a 30-year English championship drought by successful the Premier League by an 18-point margin in 2020.
Now Liverpool is struggling to even make the Champions League locations, sitting three factors exterior the highest 4 with seven video games to go.
Liverpool created probability after probability however Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane might discover no well beyond goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and a makeshift protection that stifled a entrance three that has endured a season of frustration.
“We knew we had the first leg advantage, but we played to win,” Madrid midfielder Casemiro mentioned. “They played with a lot of intensity, they’ve got a great team and coach, bit we worked hard. We didn’t rest on our laurels, and that’s ultimately what decided it.”
A scene of many memorable European comebacks, Anfield lacked the followers who’ve so usually impressed Liverpool in comparable conditions.
“You can’t not take the chances we had tonight,” mentioned Liverpool midfielder James Milner, who had an early shot pushed over by Courtois. “We had more than enough chances to do what we needed to and we didn’t take them.”
The solely approach Liverpool supporters might make their presence felt was exterior the stadium with a pink haze of flares greeting the groups earlier than the sport — and one of many Madrid buses being hit by an object that smashed a window.
“We condemn unequivocally the actions that led to Real Madrid’s team bus being damaged during its arrival to Anfield this evening,” Liverpool mentioned in a press release. “It is totally unacceptable and shameful behavior of a few individuals. We sincerely apologize to our visitors for any distress caused.”