Liverpool reached their first Champions League semi-final for 10 years after coming from behind to win at Manchester City and secure an emphatic 5-1 aggregate win.
City made the perfect start as they tried to reel in a 3-0 deficit from the first leg when Raheem Sterling set up Gabriel Jesus for a cool finish after only two minutes – but they never recovered from a contentious incident just before half-time that saw manager Pep Guardiola sent off.
Bernardo Silva had struck the post and with Liverpool under intense pressure, Leroy Sane scrambled home what City thought was a crucial second.
The goal was ruled out for offside even though the ball came off Liverpool’s James Milner and Guardiola marched on to the pitch in an explosion of fury to remonstrate with referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz. The outburst saw him forced to watch the second half from the stands.
With Guardiola away from his technical area, City lost momentum and the visitors delivered the killer blow of the away goal when, inevitably, Mohamed Salah chipped in his 39th goal of the season after a powerful run by Sadio Mane in the 56th minute.
Roberto Firmino’s classy finish 13 minutes from time completed the formalities and Liverpool will now have their sights set on a sixth triumph in Europe’s elite competition.
The Reds will discover their semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Friday at 12:00 BST in Nyon, Switzerland.
Source: BBC
Discussion about this post