Tottenham and Liverpool Reach Champions League Semi Finals

While it was plain sailing for Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final against Porto, Tottenham and their fans were certainly made to sweat against Manchester City on Wednesday night. One thing is for sure though, it is a night they will never forget.

Going into the ties this weekend, it looked as though we would have two English clubs in the semi-finals of the Champions League, but many predicted those to be Liverpool and Manchester City. However, City came unstuck in a seven-goal, VAR filled thriller at the Etihad, crushing their hopes of landing a quadruple this season by knocking them out of the competition that continues to elude them.

When five goals were scored in the first 20 minutes of the game, it looked as though we simply couldn’t get any more drama. However, another two goals plus two huge VAR decisions certainly kept us all on edge, right until the final whistle. City thought they have won it close to the end of the game, with Raheem Sterling putting the ball in the back of the net to send fans inside the stadium wild. However, the atmosphere was killed when the referee disallowed the goal for offside after a second look with VAR.

The important thing to note here is that both VAR decisions were correct, although there is no doubt the second one, in particular, sent City from being on top of the world to rock bottom within a matter of seconds.

Elsewhere in Europe we didn’t have the same drama in Porto. With a 2-0 lead from the first leg, Liverpool were always strong favourites to qualify from their game against the Portuguese side, and they made no mistake on the night. They won the game 4-1, making an aggregate score of 6-1 as they look to make the final for the second consecutive season.

Joining the two English clubs in the semi-final are Barcelona and Ajax. The draw was made before the games took place, so we knew in advance who would play each other. Liverpool face Barcelona in their semi-final, while Tottenham will take on Ajax, who have already knocked Real Madrid and Juventus out of the competition so far this season.

On paper, it is Tottenham that have the easiest task, although their game is still going to be a very tough one. We have seen Ajax put together some incredible performances already this season, especially away from home so look out for the first game between these two where Ajax will travel to Tottenham and that takes place on April 30^th. Barcelona host Liverpool in the first leg of their game a day later, and will be looking to gain the upper hand and take a lead to Anfield, where no doubt another special European atmosphere will await the Spanish side.

Just four teams remain in the quest for the Champions League, and the prospect of an all-English final is still on.

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