Manchester City 1 – Liverpool 2 (1-5 aggregate)
You’ll Never Walk Alone!
You’ll Ne-ver Walk Alone!
Liverpool’s famous anthem rang down on the Etihad, home of Manchester City, for the last twenty minutes on Tuesday, as the Reds finished their quarterfinal’s beatdown 1-2 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate.
Liverpool was the utterly dominant side over the full 180 minutes, as Manchester City’s full-throttle first-half attack was not enough to bring them back into the tie after Liverpool’s 3-0 home thrashing last week. City looked like getting back in the tie and may have even started to look the favorites again after Gabriel Jesus brought the home fans to life with his second-minute goal. Late in the second half, Bernardo Silva hit the post after a slight deflection from Liverpool defender, Dejan Lovren. Then just a minute later, Leroy Sane seemed to have rescued that goal back before the goal was flagged, somewhat controversially, for offside.
Pep Guardiola was furious at the decision from the Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who has a history of controversial decisions in La Liga and who also has drawn the ire of Guardiola as recently as this previous weekend for past decisions gone against the Catalan coach, and he showed his frustration in a halftime tirade. Pep has his own history of losing his cool on the touchline, and this time it might be viewed as the turning point in a match which his side was dominating because he was sent off by the referee. After the Blues came out for the second half, it did not take long for Liverpool to get a foothold in the game and without their, leader City was left without an answer. Lacking direction it was only a matter of time before Liverpool were going to find the clinching away goal that City was unable to find in the first leg. Who else was to find it but Liverpool ace, Mo Salah, just eleven minutes into the second half putting the game on ice. Roberto Firminho would make sure there was no miracle comeback for the Premier League Champions-Elect in the seventy-seventh minute.
City fans will be disappointed in their earlier-than-expected exit from the Champions League, but their first priority after the arrival of Guardiola was the Premier League and they seem to have locked that up in his second year.
For Liverpool, their fans will always feel that they deserve to be considered one of the world’s best teams and this tie will help to prove those notions. If they can ride the magic of Anfield to another resounding home victory they may just find themselves in a final they probably didn’t expect at the beginning of the year.
Roma 3 – Barcelona 0 (4-4 aggregate, Roma advances on away goals)
In one of the most famous comebacks, and victories in Champions League history AS Roma scored three goals at home to come back and stun tournament favorites and world football giants, Barcelona 4-4 on aggregate. Edin Dzeko’s eightieth-minute goal in the first leg proving to be the difference in this tie, as the overwhelming underdogs were able to somehow pull off a comeback that will be talked about for years to come.
Barcelona was the beneficiary of a pair of own goals in the first leg and did not do much to make fans think they would be able to rest on their history to advance to the semi-finals. Roma was dangerous in attack in the first leg and was given the slightest of hopes when their number nine put home a vital away goal. Edin Dzeko would put away an early goal to inject more energy than what was already flowing through the famous Stadio Olimpico, and it looked only a matter of time before Roma got another. That would not come until after half-time, however, with Gerard Pique bringing down the Bosnian ace with a tackle inside Barcelona’s penalty area, which would more often be found on an American football field rather than a European football pitch. Roma captain Danielle De Rossi would step up and calmly slot the penalty to the left of Marc-Andre ter Stergen just a half-hour before the ninety was complete, and from there it was game on. About twenty minutes later Roma set-piece specialist Kostas Monolas would head home a poorly defended corner to give the hosts the away goal advantage, and from there it was simply a race to the finish. Barcelona pushed for a crucial goal they would not get, though they had the chances they would have asked for and Roma fans and players alike erupted in celebration after the full-time whistle sounded.
Barcelona fans are disappointed in any season that does not end in Champions League glory, and a dominant league campaign won’t do much to soften that blow. The La Liga giants were heavily favored going into the quarter-finals with what seemed to be an easy matchup, but now they must watch from home and hope that their biggest rivals are unable to win the trophy for a third consecutive time.
A team that was not expected to even make it out of a true group of death, Roma were able to top a group that featured Chelsea and the always difficult Atletico Madrid. Every game played beyond the group stage should be viewed as a bonus, but now that Roma is so close to the final their fans will certainly be dreaming for a shot at European glory for the first time since 1984 when they were defeated in the European Cup on penalties by… Liverpool.
