UEFA Champions League 2020-21: Manchester City survives Dortmund test, Madrid cruises past Liverpool
The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals have come to an end. Manchester City continues to remain a favourite to sail into the final and challenge for its maiden title. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also stays in contention, as it is vying for its 14th title.
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FollowThe quarterfinals stage of the UEFA Champions League 2020-21 is done and dusted. The four teams that have sealed their spot in the semis happen to be Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
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On Wednesday night, the final two matches of the quarters' second leg were held. In one of the games, it was English giant Manchester City that trumped Bundesliga giant Borussia Dortmund.
Leading 2-1 from the home leg, City had a task at hand at the Signal Iduna Park. While Jude Bellingham put the host ahead in the 15th minute, Riyad Mahrez's penalty in the 55th, followed by Phil Foden's 75th-minute strike, ensured an aggregate 4-2 win to seal City's place in the semis.
Despite the loss, it was a proud moment for Bellingham, as with the opening goal, he became the:
- Joint youngest to make 100 UCL appearances, along with Youri Tielemans
- Second youngest to score in a UCL knockout after Bojan Krkic.
- Youngest Englishman to score in the UCL
- Youngest for a German club to score in the UCL
Following the loss, Dortmund boss Edin Terzic congratulated City by telling Sky Germany, "To be fair, you have to congratulate Man City. They played brilliantly and deservedly went one round further. After three of four halves, however, we were through – then it's annoying that we end up conceding two goals like this."
Meanwhile, City manager Pep Guardiola hailed Bellingham's performance more than his men. "I cannot believe it; maybe he's a liar! He's so good for 17-years-old; he's a fantastic player. There was one moment when he didn't get the ball from central defenders; how he shouts and demands that ball to him at 17 means a lot," he reckoned.
Guardiola also entered the records books of the tournament, as he qualified for semis for the eighth time as a manager. Consequently, he levelled the feat with Jose Mourinho.
In the other game, Liverpool managed to hold Madrid goalless at Anfield. However, it was not enough as the visitor's 3-1 win at home was sufficient to see it through.
Despite failing to make it to the semis, Liverpool midfielder James Milner hailed Liverpool as the better team. "We were obviously the better team. We did enough to win the game. The performance, intensity and desire was good. But, you can't not take the chances we had and that was the difference. The positive is we are creating the chances and the reaction we showed," he told BT Sport.
