Traveling to Bernabeu with the goal of having to score at least 4 goals against the home team Real Madrid has become too big a challenge for Liverpool, especially when "The Kop" has been defeated in all three recent away trips here. Even when coach Jurgen Klopp decided to use 4 strikers in this match including Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota, the task was not easier for the English team when Real Madrid played an extremely good defense under the command of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Kill Liverpool's strikers....
Despite having a 3-goal advantage after the first leg, Real Madrid did not hesitate to attack early to destroy the opponent's will. In the first 20 minutes of the match, Liverpool were suffocated and goalkeeper Alisson Becker had to work continuously to block shots from Vinicius Junior in the 14th minute, Eduardo Camavinga in the 20th minute and Luka Modric in the 22nd minute.
... and attacking heavily, Real Madrid made it difficult for Liverpool
On the opposite side of the field, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also did an excellent job blocking shots from Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, helping the home team keep a clean sheet in the first half and increasing their chances of winning the match against the English team.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois helps keep Real Madrid's net intact
The pace of the match continued to be maintained at a very high level after the break, but unfortunately the attacks of both sides' strikers were not effective, especially from Liverpool. The most significant opportunity belonged to the home team in the 69th minute when Karim Benzema received a pass from Vinicius but shot over the bar just a few meters from Liverpool's goal.
Vinicius fell but still managed to pass the ball to Benzema to score
The French striker did manage to make up for his mistake a few minutes later. Eduardo Camavinga passed the ball to Vinicius and despite missing and falling after being tackled by the visiting team's centre-back Van Dijk, the young Brazilian striker still managed to use his foot to flick the ball to Benzema's position, which was now quite empty. Not missing this great opportunity, Benzema kicked the ball into the empty net, scoring the opening goal of the match.
Benzema injured after scoring, had to leave the field...
...and received the "Best Player of the Match" award.
Benzema's goal ended any hopes of a comeback for Liverpool. Real Madrid should have had a penalty at the end of the match after defender Tsimikas handled the ball in the Liverpool penalty area. However, the 1-0 score remained until the end of the match and Real Madrid advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate.
A bitter farewell to Liverpool
Thus, the Champions League quarter-finals will have the presence of 8 teams, including three Serie A representatives: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli; two Premier League representatives: Chelsea and Man City along with Bayern Munich (Bundesliga), Benfica (Primeira Liga) and Real Madrid (La Liga). The Champions League quarter-final draw will be conducted by UEFA on the afternoon of March 17.
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