Champions League: Liverpool cruise past Benfica to take firm grip on tie, City struggle past Atletico

Liverpool took charge of their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica on Tuesday as Sadio Mane, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz gave them a 3-1 lead after the first leg in Lisbon.

Konate nodded in his first Liverpool goal from a corner before Mane tapped home to put Liverpool in command at the Estadio da Luz.

Benfica made a game of it early in the second half when a Konate error allowed the lively Darwin Nunez to pull one back, but Luis Diaz, who was superb all night, added a late third to put Liverpool in sight of the semis.

Liverpool will be supremely confident of finishing the job at Anfield next week, with Jurgen Klopp comfortable enough to take off Mohamed Salah, Mane and Thiago Alcantara after an hour.

Salah, in particular, was surely being preserved for Sunday, when Liverpool face Manchester City in what could prove to be the decisive match in the Premier League’s neck-and-neck title race.

Benfica are dotted between a Liverpool-City league and cup double-header, with the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley coming after the second leg next week, before Klopp’s team continue a crunch period with league games against Manchester United and local rivals Everton.

Liverpool’s convincing victory may offer Klopp the luxury of rotating players for the return leg next week.

Klopp has been downplaying suggestions Liverpool could yet win an historic quadruple this term.

“We are not favourites in one of the competitions we are in, but who cares? We will give it a try,” he said in a press conference on Monday.

But this contest demonstrated the gulf between the Premier League’s heavyweights and some of the old, European elite. Despite a 20-minute surge in the second half, Benfica were clearly second best.

They came into the tie dreaming of inflicting another upset, having already seen off Barcelona in the group stage and Ajax in the last 16, and they began with the intent of under-dogs, as Alex Grimaldo stirred the crowd with a thumping, sliding challenge.

But the initial exertion soon faded and Liverpool took control, the chances coming with increasing regularity as the first half wore on.

Salah was just short of a Diaz cross from the left and then had a poked finish saved after a sumptuous Mane backheel.

The goal in the 17th minute was straightforward, Konate towering over Everton Soares at a corner and heading into the bottom of the net.

Benfica’s belief seemed to drain instantly and Naby Keita should have made it two almost immediately, only to head Mane’s cross into the ground.

Nicolas Otamendi did have a chance from a corner but failed to connect and in the 34th minute, Liverpool scored again, Adel Taarabt’s sloppy touch punished by Alexander-Arnold’s chipped ball forward towards Diaz, whose smart header across give Mane a tap-in.

Salah should have made it three before half-time but the tie seemed all-but over, the only question how many Liverpool would score in the second period.

Instead, Benfica pulled a goal back shortly after the restart as Konate air-kicked Rafa Silva’s cross and Nunez pounced.

Benfica were transformed, as Nunez twice went close before the Uruguayan wanted a penalty for being stopped by Konate.

While the fans were bouncing, urging their team on, Klopp took Salah, Mane and Thiago off, an indication of the superiority he felt his team still held in the tie.

The substitutions knocked Benfica out of their stride and as the game drifted towards the finish, Liverpool snatched a third, Keita slipping in Diaz, who rounded the goalkeeper and slid into an empty net.

And in England, Kevin De Bruyne broke Atletico Madrid’s stubborn resistence as the Manchester City midfielder’s second-half strike clinched a 1-0 win in Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg.

Pep Guardiola’s side spent much of the night banging their heads against the red and white brick wall assembled by Atletico’s massed defence at the Etihad Stadium.

But Guardiola sent on Phil Foden midway through the second half and his sublime pass teed up De Bruyne to finally reward City for their territorial dominance.

While Guardiola launched a water bottle in a frenzied celebration that underlined what a testing night it had been for his team, the City boss will know the tie is far from over.

At the start of a season-defining 11 days for treble-chasing City, this was a qualified success that justified their patient performance.

But Atletico have already knocked out Manchester United in the last 16 this season, while Liverpool fell victim to Diego Simeone’s side when the Reds were the holders in 2019-20.

The Spanish champions will still believe they can cause another surprise in the second leg in Madrid on April 13.

City have no margin for error over the next two weeks as the Premier League leaders host Liverpool, just a point behind them in the title race, on Sunday.

They head to Madrid next week before facing Liverpool again in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley three days later.

Guardiola has often been criticised for his curious team selections in previous Champions League knockout stages defeats with City.

That charge elicited a scathing response from Guardiola on Monday when he joked he always “over-thinks” his “stupid” tactics.

However, Guardiola’s game-changing decision to introduce Foden should silence a few of his critics after it turned a difficult evening into a vital victory.

INSPIRED MOVE

Deployed in a low block designed to subdue City, Atletico were content to sit back with five defenders and three midfielders aligned across their own penalty area for long periods.

As ever, City monopolised possession, yet they often found themselves shuffling passes across midfield before Atletico shut the door on them.

Simeone’s famously pragmatic game-plans are anathema to lovers of attacking football, with his cautious tactics presenting a stark contrast to the purist principles espoused by Guardiola.

But, as the rain poured down, Guardiola’s frustration was mounting, as was his sense of deja vu.

When Simeone’s Atletico eliminated Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the 2016 semi-finals, they averaged just 27 percent of the possession over the two legs.

City attempted 397 passes compared to Atletico’s 149 in the first half, but they needed to play with more invention and urgency.

Gradually, City rose to the challenge and Ilkay Gundogan went close with a curling shot that deflected wide off Stefan Savic soon after the interval.

De Bruyne’s free-kick finally forced Jan Oblak’s first save, while Raheem Sterling dragged his effort well wide from a dangerous position moments later.

Sterling was denied a possible penalty after Reinildo’s shoulder barge sent the City forward tumbling as he tried to reach De Bruyne’s pass.

When Aymeric Laporte headed wastefully over from Riyad Mahrez’s corner, Guardiola had seen enough and he sent on Foden, Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus.

Foden’s arrival was an inspired move as the England forward played a key role when City at last broke through in the 70th minute.

Taking possession outside the Atletico area, Foden shimmied away from two defenders and slipped a precise pass to De Bruyne, who timed his run perfectly to drill a low strike into the far corner from a tight angle.

Angel Correa escaped with a booking after kicking the ball at Grealish, earning a shove from Guardiola in the process.

De Bruyne had a chance to double City’s lead but couldn’t hit the target to leave the tie in the balance. Pieced together from AFP reports)