In the early morning of April 28, Beijing time, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final ended the second match, Liverpool won 2-0 at home to Villarreal, 24 hours ago, in the first semi-final matchup, Manchester City narrowly defeated Real Madrid 4-3 at home. The two Premier League giants have won hand in hand, and there is great hope for the final.
Manchester City against Real Madrid
This is the fourth time the two teams have met in the Champions League, with the previous six games winning 2 and 2 draws. The first leg was played at the home of Manchester City, where Real Madrid had won 2 draws and 1 defeat in their previous 3 away games, while City had won 17 and 2 draws in their last 19 Champions League home games to remain unbeaten.
Just 93 seconds into the opening, Mahrez assisted de Bruyne's header to give City a 1-0 lead. This goal set the record for the fastest goal scored in the semi-final stage of the Champions League and the fastest goal scored in all competitions in Manchester City's history.
In the 11th minute, Jesus scored to help City extend the score 2-0. In the 33rd minute, Mendy's cross assisted Benzema's goal to help Real Madrid pull back a goal 1-2.
In the 53rd minute of the second half, Foden's header broke and City rewrote the score 3-1. In the 55th minute, Vinicius staged a world-class performance and a road-breaking performance to help Real Madrid chase another goal 2-3.
In the 73rd minute of the second half, Bernardo Silva exploded into the net to give City a 4-2 lead. In the 81st minute, Benzema scored a spoonful penalty to help Real Madrid chase another 3-4 goal. Benzema, who scored twice, rose to the top of the top scorers list with 14 goals, and was only three goals away from the Champions League record of 17 goals set by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The two teams scored seven goals, equaling the Champions League semi-final record for a single goal, and for the first time in Manchester City's history, they defeated Real Madrid in three consecutive Champions League games, becoming the first English team to achieve this feat.
Liverpool against Villarreal
This is the first time the two teams have met in the Champions League, after the European level only met in the semi-finals of the 2015-16 Europa League, liverpool lost 1-0 away from home, returned to the home 3-0 win, and eliminated Villarreal 3-1 on aggregate to advance to the final.
Liverpool blasted 12 feet without scoring until the 53rd minute of the second half, when Henderson's cross from the right side of the box bounced into the net and Liverpool broke the deadlock 1-0.
In the 55th minute, Salah burst into the penalty area and Ma Ne inserted a low shot to help Liverpool extend the score 2-0.
This victory allowed Liverpool to advance to the final with one foot, and also continued the record of unbeaten home after the Restructuring of the Champions League, with a record of 10 wins and 2 draws.