Sofyan Amrabat
Not many people would have recognised Sofyan Amrabat before the tournament, in fact, it was likely that more people would have remembered Sofyan’s older brother Nordin, who turned out for Watford in the Premier League in the 2015/16 season. Nonetheless, the 26-year-old ended the tournament in most people’s teams of the tournament, as well as collecting accolades such as ‘the new Kanté’, having won possession 57 times – the most by any African player since the 1966 World Cup. Alongside his Moroccan teammate Azzedine Ounahi, Amrabat excelled in Qatar and significantly contributed to Morocco becoming the first-ever African side to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
Even before the tournament, there were some rumours linking Amrabat with a move away from Fiorentina, but the 2022 World Cup only added fuel to the fire, with some of the biggest clubs in the world now battling for the midfielder’s signature. If the latest rumours are to be believed, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur seem to be in a direct battle for the Moroccan, but Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla are also linked. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorentina are only willing to let Amrabat go for at least €40m – with Liverpool only recently spending close to that for Cody Gakpo, does this give Tottenham an advantage in the race for the Atlas Lion?
Jude Bellingham
England midfielder Jude Bellingham was by no means an unknown entity before this winter’s World Cup, after already becoming one of the best young players in the world following his €25m move from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund as a 17-year-old in 2020. However, this was perhaps the 19-year-old’s statement tournament, becoming a crucial member of the Three Lions’ midfield in Qatar. The Birmingham native had not scored for his national side ahead of the tournament, but in England’s opener against Iran, it was Bellingham who notched the first goal of the tournament for the Three Lions, also adding an assist for Jordan Henderson in the round of 16 tie against Senegal. At 19, Bellingham became one of the most important pieces of the England team, having finished first in shot-creating chances, tackles won, blocks, and dribbles completed out of the entire squad.
The Borussia Dortmund man’s stock has only risen after the 2022 World Cup, with the usual suspects, such as Real Madrid and PSG, linked with a move for the England star, but it seems more likely that the 19-year-old midfielder will head back to England, with Liverpool and Manchester City set to go head-to-head for his signature. Manchester City have already snapped up his good pal Haaland last summer, with City perhaps the more logical option for Bellingham, however, according to reports in England, Jude’s father is trying to convince his son to choose Liverpool instead. Only time will tell whether Bellingham will listen to his father or become his own man in 2023. gon
Enzo Fernández
Joško Gvardiol
Alexis Mac Allister
Dominik Livaković
Azzedine Ounahi
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of completing his trophy cabinet with the World Cup came to a shocking end as Portugal lost to Morocco.
It was one of the saddest sights in world football as Ronaldo, 37, knew that this was his last attempt at winning the coveted Jules Rimet Trophy and it ended in tears as he was sobbing before disappearing into the tunnel.
Ronaldo and his former Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid teammate Pepe were the cornerstones of Portugal’s footballing hopes over the last 14 years. The duo has enjoyed unprecedented success during their tenure with the Los Blancos and have carried the nation’s hopes at far too many international tournaments.
Before Ronaldo came along to the international setup, Portugal had failed to qualify for 14 of their previous 17 World Cups. They didn’t qualify for 8 out of 11 European Championships and had no major trophies to their name despite producing incredible talents over the years.
This changed after the inclusion of Ronaldo and Pepe. They have qualified for every international tournament since their respective debuts and have won two trophies.
It was this duo that played a massive role in Portugal’s 2016 Euros success. Pepe was arguably the best player of the tournament and Ronaldo carried the attack and turned it up like only Ronaldo can, especially when it mattered most.
Fernando Santos was the mastermind behind this success, the mastermind behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest triumph. The former Sporting Lisbon manager found ways to galvanize his troops and get them ready for battle. Just four players in that squad plied their trade in Europe’s top-five leagues at the time, Ronaldo and Pepe representing Real Madrid, José Fonte and Cédric Soares from Southampton being the other two.
However, it was also Santos who is mainly culpable for the downfall of this Portuguese team in Qatar. The 58-year-old came up with strange tactical and personnel decisions during the World Cup and that has consistently been the case for the last four years. For instance, not starting Rafael Leão, one of the best players in Serie A, in any of the games in Qatar is baffling.
A lot was made of Santos’ decision to replace Ronaldo in the starting line-up with Gonçalo Ramos. It made sense tactically as Switzerland tend to play a high line and Portugal needed pace with their outlet pass. Santos was justified in the end as the Benfica forward scored a hattrick.
However, to not start Ronaldo against Morocco’s low-block was a mistake. In fact, starting Ronaldo and Ramos could have been the right way to line-up as coupling Ronaldo with another forward in the box could wreak havoc in the opposing defence as they cannot solely zone in on Portugal’s number 7.
Portugal’s best moments in the game came when both of them were on the pitch together. Unfortunately, that did not last long as Ramos was hooked just after the hour mark for Leão, who isn’t a forward but rather an out and out left winger. This left Ronaldo alone in the box and with three Moroccan defenders marking him, the talisman had little to no service.
What certainly didn’t help Portugal’s cause was the abhorrent performances from the Premier League quartet of Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Rúben Neves. Fernandes was racking up incredible numbers in Qatar this year but like the underlying narrative that has existed during his career, the midfielder went missing when it mattered most. The same can be said about Silva as his contribution to the attack was very little, if anything.
While almost all of these players will get a chance to play at the World Cup again in 2026, this was Ronaldo and Pepe’s last hurrah. The desperation on their faces was quite evident towards the end of the game, especially considering that Pepe played the match with a broken arm.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be 38 in two months’ time. Surely this was his last World Cup as he will be 41 by the time the 2026 edition rolls around, but you never know with him. Ronaldo has defied age and logic innumerable times throughout his career, but if this was the last time we’ve seen him on football’s biggest stage, then it was a bitter end to the international career of the greatest player of all time.
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Source: India TV News
FIFA ranking: 9
How they qualified: UEFA qualifying path C play-off winners
2018 World Cup performance: Round of 16
Previous World Cup appearances: 7
Best result: Third place (1966)
Background
Source: AA
Portugal are back at their record sixth consecutive World Cup tournament and they will be hoping to beat their third-place finish from 1966. It wasn’t the easiest of qualifications campaigns, having finished second in their qualifying group behind Serbia despite only losing one game – controversially against the Serbs. This meant that A Seleção had to take part in the path C play-offs where they were pitted against Turkey, who they defeated 3-1 to set up an encounter with North Macedonia, who surprisingly dispatched Italy in their play-off match. Indeed, Portugal arguably might not even have qualified for the 2022 World Cup if Italy progressed instead of North Macedonia, a scenario that we will never know the result of. Portugal have not progressed beyond the round of 16 in their last three World Cup tournaments, but a strong squad and an experienced manager could be the right combination they need to finally reach the final of a World Cup.
The Coach – Fernando Santos
Source: Sportz Point
Fernando Santos will be one of the most experienced coaches at this winter’s World Cup, having a career in management spanning over 30 years. After a modest start to his managerial career at Estoril, Santos managed the ‘big three’ in Portugal (Porto, Benfica, and Sporting CP), as well as AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, and PAOK in Greece, before undertaking his first national team duties as the coach of Greece in 2010. Santos impressed as the boss of the Greek national team, leading them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012, as well as the knockout stage of the 2014 World Cup – Greece’s first and only knockout stage at a World Cup.
Following that tournament, the Portuguese FA appointed Santos as their new coach after Paulo bento was fired due to poor results. Since that appointment, Santos led Portugal to a surprising Euro 2016 win, as well as the UEFA Nations League trophy in 2018-19. While Santos was able to deliver Portugal’s first and only major international trophy, cracks have begun to show, with many fans unconvinced that the 68-year-old is the man to lead Portugal to glory in Qatar.
Key Player – Cristiano Ronaldo
Source: Inside Sport
The greatest international goalscorer is back at his fifth World Cup and the 37-year-old will be Portugal’s greatest hope if they are to lift their first-ever World Cup trophy. While the Manchester United forward might not be as influential as in the past, he still finished as Portugal’s top scorer in qualifying with six goals, and he is still capable of creating moments of magic. Some fans feel like Ronaldo creates more problems than he solves, but 117 goals in 191 Portugal appearances say otherwise. This Portugal team is full of quality players, but Cristiano Ronaldo is still the first name on the team sheet, even at 37. The Portuguese talisman has won everything that there is to win, with 32 trophies including seven league titles in three different countries, five Champions League trophies, as well as the European Championship, but one trophy has eluded him thus far – the World Cup. At 37, this will be Ronaldo’s last World Cup and he will be determined to go out on a high.
Predicted Line-up
World Cup Chances
Source: Crowdfunder
Portugal only narrowly made it to the 2022 World Cup but looking at the names in their squad it is hard to argue against them being one of the favourites for the World Cup crown. Portugal have a favourable group including Uruguay, Ghana, and South Korea, but while each of these teams are weaker on paper, they can cause surprises. If Portugal manage to win their group, it is likely a repeat encounter with Serbia will follow in the round of 16, with Portugal failing to beat the Serbs in qualification.
The Portugal team is packed full of talented options in every department, perhaps only the centre-back position lacking, with Pepe the only quality partner for Manchester City’s Ruben Dias. While their defence can be shaky with no natural alternative for 39-year-old Pepe, many battles are won in midfield and Portugal possess one of the best midfields in the world, with players like Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and Ruben Neves. Add that to a man named Cristiano Ronaldo upfront and teams at this winter’s World Cup should be scared of this Portugal team.
]]>The Champions League gets back underway this week following the international break with several sides in desperate need of victories to spark their European campaign into life.
Group A
Napoli will travel to Amsterdam looking to maintain their perfect start against an Ajax side smarting from their late defeat against Liverpool. The Italians have arguably been the standout side in the competition so far and can take a giant leap towards qualification with a victory in the Dutch capital.
Elsewhere it will be a first ever meeting of Liverpool and Rangers at Anfield with both sides needing wins for different reasons. Liverpool will look to Europe to gain some form after stuttering in the league while Rangers are yet to get off the mark in their return to the top table.
Group B
Club Brugge have arguably been the biggest surprise package in the tournament so far and will look to claim another scalp when they host Atletico Madrid.
The Belgians have made a perfect start and another victory would open a big gap between themselves and third place in the group.
Porto will be aiming to get off the mark after two defeats in their first two games when they host Bayer Leverkusen. The Germans are struggling domestically but did defeat Atletico last time out so they’ll have some belief travelling to Portugal.
Group C
Bayern Munich have once more made an impressive start to a Champions League group stage and will get the action underway on Tuesday when they host Viktoria Plzen in the early kickoff.
The German champions defeated their two biggest group rivals in September and will be expecting to dispatch of their Czech visitors to maintain their lead in the group.
Inter Milan meanwhile will host Barcelona in what is the biggest game of the week.
Both sides came up short when facing Bayern and both defeated Plzen so they’ll view these two upcoming games as the key to deciding who will follow Julien Nagelsmann’s side into the last 16.
Group D
Sporting are another side who have impressed, taking six points in what looked the most open group on paper.
They travel to Marseille on Tuesday who desperately need a win if they are to stand any hope of reaching the next round. The French side have started well in the league but have struggled badly in Europe in recent years and will be desperate to give the home support something to cheer.
Tottenham will visit Eintracht Frankfurt in the other Group D clash looking to bounce back from their weekend defeat to bitter rivals Arsenal and take steps towards qualification. It will be far from easy against the Europa League winners who will also have their sights on the latter stages.
Group E
AC Milan head what has been a very tight and unpredictable Group E and will host Chelsea on Wednesday night with injuries to key players disrupting their preparation.
French pair Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez will miss the clash against Graham Potter’s men who needs points themselves having stuttered in their opening two games.
Salzburg are unbeaten thus far but have also yet to win but a victory over Dinamo Zagreb at home would put them in good stead heading into the turn in the group. The Croatians will be aiming for another surprise victory having stunned Chelsea last month.
Group F
Holders Real Madrid have made a serene start to their title defence and host Shakhtar on Wednesday looking to maintain their 100% record.
The visitors have also made a good start to the group and look favourites to join their hosts in the next round.
Celtic will travel to Leipzig looking to build on their credible draw against Shakhtar last time out and will need to get something to keep their qualification hopes alive as will the bottom side from East Germany.
Group G
Erling Haaland has been in utterly sensational form this season with 17 goals so far and the visit of FC Copenhagen will offer the Norwegian another chance to add to his tally.
The Danes picked up a draw against Sevilla three weeks ago but will be up against a Manchester City side brimming with confidence after sticking six goals past their local rivals Manchester United.
Sevilla have made a terrible start in La Liga and need to get something at home to Borussia Dortmund to avoid being cut adrift in terms of qualification. Victory for the Germans will see them move five points clear of their hosts with just three games to play.
Group H
Benfica have been another surprise outfit this season, winning nine of ten games in all competitions and two 100% records will go head to head in this group when they host PSG.
The Lisbon side claimed a stunning victory away at Juventus last time out and even a point here at home to the French champions will boost their chances of repeating what they did last year when they knocked Barcelona out in the group stages.
Juventus will be looking to avoid the same fate as the Spaniards and nothing less than three points against Maccabi Haifa in Turin will do, with manager Max Allegri under all sorts of pressure.
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Liverpool may have reached the Champions League semi-finals with a 6-4 aggregate win over S.L. Benfica, but manager Jurgen Klopp says that he takes responsibility for their fragility in Wednesday night’s 3-3 second leg draw against the Portuguese side.
The Reds had led 1-0 and 3-1 at Anfield with little more than 25 minutes remaining, though conceded to both Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Nunez in the closing stages. Visitors Benfica also saw two goals ruled out for offside on the night with Liverpool far from their best throughout.
Speaking in his press conference having guided the club to a third UCL semi-final in his near seven-year tenure, German boss Klopp didn’t shy away from the blame.
“When you defend in the Champions League quarter-finals, it’s about the details,” said Klopp.
“It’s part of defending to put the opponent [into an] offside [position] and tonight it didn’t work out too well but that’s my fault because I made seven changes.
“The last line have never played together like this. When we lost the ball, our protection was obviously not perfect. We missed the boys of the last line, the voice of the last line – Virgil [Van Dijk].
“I know that we will talk about the game, the goals we conceded, and all of these things, but the day when I’m not over the moon about qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals is when something’s really wrong. Maybe then it would be the right time to quit.
“I never take something like this for granted, I’m really really happy.”
When Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino volleyed home his second of the evening in front of the Kop to put Liverpool 6-2 up on aggregate, most inside Anfield – and probably beyond – could not foresee Benfica’s comeback.
The Portuguese side – struggling in their own league this season – could have snatched it at the death too, denied yet again by the offside flag with almost the last kick of the game.
Klopp praised Nelson Verissimo’s side and admitted he was no different to anybody else in terms of the thinking with a two-goal lead on the night.
He said: “We are human beings, we think ‘Okay, job done!’ and Benfica were still on fire, I respect that a lot. They scored really good goals, but it should not be that easy against us.
“Everyone, me included, thought [at 3-1] that’s it. Benfica thought let’s give it a try and I couldn’t respect that more.
“They deserved the three goals, that’s just how it is. Of course, we could have scored more, that’s clear. I know about challenges in football games which you face constantly and tonight it was after 3-1.”
Albeit with an off-colour performance, now that Klopp’s side have secured their place in the last four of the Champions League, their hunt for an unprecedented quadruple is still very much alive and kicking.
The train now rolls onto its next destination for the red half of Merseyside, stopping off at Wembley this Saturday for an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City. The Citizens also qualified for the semis of the Champions League after beating Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
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Liverpool’s 3-3 Champions League draw against S.L. Benfica at Anfield was by no means one of the Reds’ best performances, but it was enough to see them through into the semi-finals and tick off some landmark numbers at the same time.
Jurgen Klopp’s side won 6-4 on aggregate having brought a 3-1 lead back with them from Portugal in the first leg to reach the last four of the competition for the third time in his near seven-year tenure.
Since the competition’s re-brand in 1992, the Merseyside club have now played 160 Champions League games. Regardless of the result on Wednesday night, that was always going to be the case.
However, what wasn’t for sure was whether Liverpool would make it 150 Champions League goals at Anfield. Going into the meeting with the Eagles, Klopp’s side needed to score two for that to happen and of course, they got three, so the landmark number was reached.
Roberto Firmino’s poke home in the 55th minute took the accolade of 150, the first of the Brazilian’s brace, and he has teammate Diogo Jota to thank for writing his name into a small piece of Liverpool history with the little striker skewing a shot of his own which fell into Firmino’s path.
It was Benfica’s second-ever trip to Anfield in the Champions League, and having won 2-0 in March 2006, their unbeaten record in the competition at Liverpool’s home remains after they came from 3-1 down to finish level on the night.
Goals from Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Nunez, on 73 and 82 minutes respectively, denied the hosts their 50thChampions League home victory. When Villarreal come to town in the semi-final first leg on April 26, Klopp’s side will again chase that tally.
Instead, the number of Champions League draws at Anfield has now ticked up to 15, with the record in full reading as below.
Played: 78, Won: 49, Drawn: 15, Lost: 14
Numbers aside, Liverpool know for sure that their quadruple hunt is still on this season, and to be honest, if they go onto achieve it, that’ll be the only figure that matters to all in the red half of Merseyside.
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Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool continued their hunt for an unprecedented quadruple, progressing into the Champions League semi-finals with a 6-4 aggregate win over S.L. Benfica despite a nervy second leg which ended 3-3 at Anfield.
Winning the Carabao Cup already this year, the Reds have an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City to come this weekend and are also in a battle with the Citizens for the Premier League title.
Heading into their second leg against Portuguese side Benfica, Klopp’s side held a 3-1 lead and by the end of the action-packed 90 minutes, it is a good job that they did as that two-goal advantage saw them through to the last four, setting up a double-header against Spaniards Villareal.
In the first of many disallowed goals on the night, Diogo Jota saw a header ruled out early on for a push on his marker in the Benfica box while Nelson Verissimo’s men showed defensive frailties when goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos flapped at Luis Diaz’s low cross.
As he had done in last week’s away leg, Ibrahima Konate headed home the opener, while last week’s Benfica goalscorer Darwin Nunez was denied an instant response at the other end by the offside flag.
Diaz and Roberto Firmino both went close for the hosts in front of an atmospheric away end before Goncalo Ramos scored in front of the Kop at the other end to send the travelling supporters wild.
The equaliser had to be confirmed by VAR, not the last time that would be said, with the ball falling to Ramos in what looked to be an offside position until it was discovered that Liverpool’s James Milner had got the last touch on the ball to bring the forward back into play.
Naby Keita fired over for the hosts before Alejandro Grimaldo made a superb block with Diaz ready to tap into an empty net from Firmino’s ball across the area.
1-1 at the break, and after a quiet start to the second half, Liverpool pounced on some terrible defending to nudge ahead on 55 minutes. Firmino the scorer after Jota had skewed a shot following errors from both Vlachodimos and Ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen.
Credit – Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Brazilian Firmino added a third ten minutes later, UEFA’s eventual Man of the Match Kostas Tsimikas curling an inch-perfect free-kick into the box which the striker couldn’t miss when he connected with it.
From there on though, Klopp’s side became a shell of what we have all come to know them as. There were attacks forward from the Reds, but it was the Eagles from Portugal who finished stronger without a doubt.
On as a half-time substitute, Roman Yaremchuk rounded Alisson to pull one back with little under 20 minutes remaining though VAR had to intervene after the offside flag had been initially raised.
Firmino chased his hat-trick with a shot that was blocked, though Benfica striker Nunez was the next to get on the scoresheet, as he had done at the Estadio de Luz in the first leg.
Having seen one ruled out in the first half, the Uruguayan again dinked over Alisson and saw the offside flag go up with eight minutes remaining but this time, VAR would be the saviour for him and, again, gave the goal.
Now level on the night, the visitors went straight on the attack from the restart and will consider themselves unlucky not to have added another with Nunez’s volley at goal. Only Alisson’s fine save down to his right kept it out, and that felt a huge moment in the context of the tie.
With virtually the last kick of the game, Verissimo’s team had yet another one ruled out for offside, VAR not changing that decision, but by then the tie was won by Liverpool.
The Reds face Spaniards Villarreal in the last four, and their quadruple hunt rolls on.
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Anfield has provided so many magical moments in Europe, so many cult heroes, and so much success. Now, Liverpool must go again to finish the job in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final with S.L. Benfica the visitors.
Jürgen Klopp’s side hold a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg in Portugal, with Ibrahima Konaté and Sadio Mané both on target in the opening 45 minutes at the Estádio da Luz.
Some nerves may have been jangling when Benfica’s Darwin Nunez scored early in the second half to halve the deficit, though a late goal from Colombian forward Luis Diaz has taken some of the pressure off Klopp’s side ahead of Wednesday night.
Still very much in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple sat second in the Premier League, Liverpool drew 2-2 at table toppers Manchester City last weekend and will again play the Citizens this weekend coming, though that one comes in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Benfica meanwhile are historically the most successful Portuguese club ever, though have struggled desperately this season and have only their faint Champions League hopes to cling onto in terms of silverware.
Third in the Primeira Liga and trailing the top two by some distance, the Eagles look set to enter the UCL next season in its qualifying stages unless they go onto win the competition this term. Nélson Veríssimo’s side also lost the League Cup final to Sporting Lisbon in January in what has been a poor campaign on the whole.
A Look at the Numbers
Six-time winners of the competition, Wednesday night’s fixture will be Liverpool’s 160th Champions League game since the competition re-branded in 1992.
Of the 159 so far, 77 have been at Anfield with many memorable occasions within that figure. The Reds could claim a 50th home UCL victory with success against the Eagles while a draw or a defeat would take the tally to 15 in either of those columns.
And given their unquestionable goalscoring threat, Klopp’s side are more than capable of reaching 150 Champions League goals at Anfield with only two needed to reach another milestone.
Two-time competition winners Benfica stand in the way of those landmark numbers, a club who have only ever made one visit to Anfield in the Champions League though a successful one.
Back in March 2006, the Portuguese outfit stunned the red half of Merseyside with a 2-0 victory in the round of 16 as Liverpool were dumped out of a competition they had won the year before.
Liverpool did win on Benfica’s most recent visit however (April 2010) in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Fernando Torres’ brace contributed to a 4-1 win though El Niño’s former club Atletico Madrid went onto knock the Reds out at the last-four stage on away goals.
Road to Paris
Winners of group B with a 100%-winning record, Liverpool then saw off Inter Milan over two legs in the round of 16 with a 2-1 aggregate victory despite losing 1-0 at Anfield.
Goals in the first leg at the San Siro from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah were enough to set up the last-eight tie against Benfica.
Veríssimo’s side meanwhile finished second in group E, pipping Barcelona to qualification after beating the Spaniards 3-0 at home and earning a vital 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp.
Also known as the Reds in their native country, Benfica then saw off Ajax in the round of 16. After an enthralling 2-2 draw at home in the first leg, a hard-fought 1-0 win away in the Netherlands saw them progress.
Both they and Liverpool already know that qualification on Wednesday night will bring a winnable looking semi-final showdown against Spanish outfit Villareal, who defeated German giants Bayern Munich 2-1 on aggregate following last night’s 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.
The final of the competition will then take place on May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris.
Coverage
Prost International reporter Ben Olawumi will cover all the action live from Anfield in the quarter-final second leg with an 8:00pm kick-off scheduled. You can follow him on Twitter – @OlawumiJourno
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The Champions League quarter-finals got underway this week with Karim Benzema grabbing a hat-trick to put Real Madrid in the driving seat in their tie with holders Chelsea.
Elsewhere Liverpool have one foot in the semi-finals after beating Benfica while Manchester City and Villarreal edged out Atletico Madrid and Villarreal respectively.
Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid
This fixture was a clash of styles as the possession-heavy approach of Pep Guardiola came up against the defensively resolute Diego Simeone and his gladiatorial approach to winning.
The game played out as expected with Atletico camped in and allowing City to have control of the ball and play in front of the Spaniards. In turn, Atletico had hoped to catch City on the break but no decent opportunities truly presented themselves.
The Citizens huffed and puffed for the majority of the first hour with Jan Oblak only troubled sporadically before Kevin De Bruyne scored what proved to be the game’s winning goal, finishing confidently after being found in the box by Phil Foden.
City were unable to add a second but will take a lead to Spain and know that at some point, Atletico will have to come out and attack, which should open up space on the counter.
Simeone will not be devastated by the result as the tie is still very much alive. A greater attacking threat will be required next Wednesday however if Atleti are to spring a surprise.
Benfica 1-3 Liverpool
Liverpool look well placed to continue their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple after claiming a two-goal victory in Lisbon.
The Reds started on the front foot and played with an intensity that their Portuguese counterparts were struggling to match.
It was therefore no surprise when Jurgen Klopp’s side went ahead. Ibrahima Konate powered home his first goal for the club to set the Merseysiders on their way.
Sadio Mane would double the lead in the first after a wonderful ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold picked out Luis Diaz, who remained composed to head across to Mane to tap into the empty net.
Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita both had further opportunities as Liverpool looked to win the tie in one leg but Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos performed admirably to keep it at two.
Benfica were afforded a lifeline early in the second half when Darwin Nunez pounced on a Konate error to calmly slot home and ramp up the atmosphere in the Estadio Da Luz.
Liverpool lost their way a bit and struggled to hold on to the ball as the hosts pressed but Diaz inflicted a damaging blow late on as Naby Keita’s deflected through ball found the former Porto man who rounded Vlachodimos to restore the two-goal cushion.
The Reds are now firm favourites to advance to the final four with Benfica needing a huge performance at Anfield.
Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid
In what was the most eye-catching tie of the round on paper, Karim Benzema lit up the midweek action with a hat-trick for the second Champions League game in a row as Real Madrid left Chelsea on the brink of elimination.
Benzema was on form from the off. A brilliant backheel allowed Federico Valverde to play the ball into Vinicius Junior, who smacked the crossbar with his effort.
If this was a warning for Thomas Tuchel’s side, they did not heed it. In the 21st minute, Benzema played a lovely one-two with Vinicius who clipped the ball back for the onrushing Frenchman to score a glorious header past Edouard Mendy.
La Liga’s top scorer would repeat the trick just minutes later, finding space in the area to head Luka Modric’s cross into the bottom corner. It was such a difficult chance to convert but Benzema is operating on another level at the minute.
Chelsea did manage to get back into the game just before half-time with Kai Havertz powering a header past Thibaut Courtois to halve the deficit.
Any hopes that the goal may inspire a rousing comeback were dissipated almost instantly in the second as a mistake from Mendy was not dealt with at all well by Antonio Rudiger allowing Benzema the simple task of rolling it into an empty net from 25 yards.
After the difficulty of the opening two goals, the striker will have been surprised yet delighted at just how easy the third presented itself.
Chelsea tried to get back into the game with substitute Romelu Lukaku spurning a glorious chance by heading wide from six yards and Courtois saving brilliantly to deny Cesar Azpilicueta.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side did enough to hold on and look well placed to bring Chelsea’s tenure as European champions to an end, with Tuchel declaring the tie over in his post-match press conference.
Villarreal 1-0 Bayern Munich
This was the surprise result of the round, without question. Villarreal are relative novices at this level, with this being their first quarter-final in 13 years.
This did not stop the Yellow Submarines from producing a display full of energy and confidence to give themselves a slender advantage heading into next week’s second leg in Germany.
Former Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma struck the only goal of the game in the eighth minute, diverting Dani Parejo’s effort past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.
In what was an entertaining game with chances at either end, it will be the Spaniards who feel they left possibly a victory by a greater margin behind in this once.
Gerard Moreno almost scored from 45 yards out with Neuer stranded but his effort curled wide while Danjuma and Pedraza both spurned great chances to add to the worries for Julian Nagelsmann.
Francis Coquelin also saw his cross loop over Neuer and into the net only for VAR to catch the former Arsenal midfielder offside.
Bayern had chances too with Kingsley Coman twice going close but Nagelsmann will be relieved that the deficit is only one with a home return leg to come.
Bayern have done this before in losing or drawing first legs, only to smash the opposition once the action gets to the Allianz Arena.
Villarreal will be hoping to buck the trend and add another former winner to the list of clubs they have vanquished this season.
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There are now 232 days until the opening game of the World Cup and we learned on Friday who would face who as the group stage draw took place in the Qatari capital.
Delegates from around the world flew in as former players such as Cafu, Tim Cahill and Ali Daei took part in the draw ceremony that saw 29 confirmed nations discover their fate while three play-off contenders also discovered what could potentially be ahead for them.
The draw threw up plenty of exciting and intriguing groups and while there probably is not a ‘group of death’ as such, almost every country will fancy their chances of having some sort of success in November.
Group A
Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
So we finally found out what the opening game will be and it is the hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador. It won’t look like a thriller on paper but it will give the debutants some belief that they can get off to a decent start.
African champions Senegal taking on the Netherlands looks like one of the group stage highlights and both will fancy their chances of reaching the knockout stages. A final game clash between Ecuador and Senegal could well decide qualification.
Group B
England, Iran, USA, Wales/Ukraine/Scotland
Well, this was certainly the group for lovers of narrative.
On paper, it appears to be quite a nice draw for England but without knowing who will come through the play-off in June, it is hard to draw too many conclusions.
The USA and England have played out some memorable World Cup games in the past while Iran famously saw off the States in 1998 for a first-ever World Cup victory.
The prospect however of a battle between two home nations on the biggest stage is mouth-watering and with it being the final group game, there could be a lot on the line.
Group C
Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
A nice group appeared for Lionel Messi on what will probably be his last shot at winning the tournament. Argentina will be hopeful of topping the group with none of the other three sides having much success in recent editions.
Mexico and Poland will know their opening clash will go a long way to who will advance while Saudi Arabia would appear unlikely to get anything in what is quite a daunting group for the Middle Eastern side.
Mexico’s quest for a fifth match at a World Cup would most likely see them up against France in the last 16 in what would be an enormously difficult encounter for the North Americans.
Group D
France, UAE/Australia/Peru, Denmark, Tunisia
Should Peru or Australia make it through the intercontinental play-off in June, Group D will see three-quarters of the participants in Group C from 2018 in the same group once more.
France came through that group en route to winning the tournament back then and Les Bleus and Denmark will be feeling confident of a repeat result four years on.
Tunisia will be looking to cause an upset somewhere and build on their victory over Panama in 2018.
Look out for the matchday two clash between France and Denmark where a Danish win would throw everyone’s knockout predictions up in the air and open up the draw. It always happens somewhere and that could be the game that does it.
Group E
Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan
Spain against Germany on November 27th is the standout fixture of the group stage draw but it has the look of a clash that will decide first place in the group, rather than knock a giant out.
Both sides will be confident of seeing off Japan and whichever of Costa Rica or New Zealand come through in June.
Japan may seek inspiration from neighbours South Korea however, who knocked the Germans out in 2018.
Group F
Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Two of the semi-finalists from Russia in 2018 will come together in the group stages as Belgium and Croatia lock horns in Group F.
The pair will face off in the final group game and should either slip up in advance of that, we could well see one of the more fancied European sides going home.
Morocco impressed in 2018 without winning while Canada will face Belgium in their first World Cup match since 1986. They may just believe their fairytale run could continue into the knockout stages.
Group G
Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Another group that is almost a carbon copy from 2018 only this time Cameroon will take the place of Costa Rica.
Brazil came out on top on that occasion while Serbia and Switzerland played out a controversial clash that saw the Swiss come from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a late winner from Xherdan Shaqiri.
They will meet in the final group game which could essentially be a winner-takes-all clash.
Cameroon are not going to make up the numbers though and will make for dangerous opponents after their dramatic late win over Algeria to qualify.
Group H
Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Uruguay will have the face up to the ghosts of World Cups past in Group H.
The South Americans knocked South Korea out in the last 16 in 2010 while they did the same to Portugal in Russia four years ago.
But the real battle for revenge will take place on matchday two when Ghana seek redemption after Luis Suarez and the handball controversy from the 2010 quarter-final.
This has the appearance of quite an open group and while Portugal will back themselves to win it, history has shown that they could just as easily finish bottom.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
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