JAKARTA - The scoreline that took place in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday local time smoothed Los Blancos' path to the semi-finals of the tournament as well as past the Reds' barriers.
Real Madrid, who won 3-1 in the first leg a week ago, qualified with a similar aggregate score to challenge Chelsea in the semi-finals, UEFA's official website reports.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Eder Militao were two of Real Madrid's best performers in this match. Courtois made three brilliant saves, while Eder posted an important goal to ensure real Madrid's goal was not conceded throughout the match.
👊 THIS TEAM! 👊#HALAMADRID | #UCL pic.twitter.com/sNsxAHJWCw
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 14, 2021
Los Blancos maintained a 3-1 aggregate lead until half-time after a goalless draw at Anfield.
Liverpool had been very aggressive since kickoff, but a good chance from two minutes was wasted by Mohamed Salah who fired a shot into Cortouis' left foot.
In the 11th minute, James Milner unleashed an accurate speculative shot from outside the box, but Courtois made a brilliant save to pull the ball into the side of the net.
SEE ALSO:
Instead, Real Madrid threatened to turn back when Karim Benzema's pull-back was deflected after being cut by Ozan Kabak but the ball hit the post before being secured by goalkeeper Alisson Becker into his arms.
In the final five minutes of the first half Liverpool's players again wasted two good chances inside the box when Salah and Georginio Wijnaldum's shots soared above the target.
Liverpool started the second half with the same level of aggressiveness and Trent Alexander-Arnold sent a slick-through ball into the box, but Roberto Firmino's finishing shot was still straight towards Courtois who was quick to block the ball.
The unaltering circumstances forced Jurgen Klopp to gamble boldly in the form of substitutions of two players at once by inserting Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota for Milner and Kabak, forcing Fabinho to return to play as a central defender.
The change was not enough to change the sharpness of Liverpool's attack, instead, their backline had a long pass and luckily Alisso made two saves to block Vinicius Junior and Benzema's chances in the 66th minute.
Three minutes later, Firmino had another chance inside the box from Andy Robertson's header, but his shot was blocked by Brazilian compatriot Eder.
Zinedine Zidane is looking to add fresh energy by bringing down Rodrygo Goes and Alvaro Odriozola.
In the 81st minute, Odriozola sent a well-taken cross into the center of the box where Benzema stood uncontrollably, but the French striker's header bounced off the turf before landing on the roof of the home side's net.
Klopp used two more substitution slots to include Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Xherdan Shaqiri, who replaced Sadio Mane and Firmino respectively in a bid to find attacking options.
But the expected change did not happen and the 0-0 scoreline lasted until the break, ensuring Real Madrid secured a 3-1 aggregate lead and qualified for the semi-finals to face Chelsea.
🏁 FT: @LFC 0-0 @realmadriden (agg. 1-3) #UCL | #Emirates pic.twitter.com/MwPCHyUUt7
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 14, 2021
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
