Champions League

Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Villarreal are one step closer to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. Liverpool defeated Benfica 3-1 and...

Yet it felt like just a matter of time before Benzema would score again, and he did one minute into the second half. He also skyrocketed himself into the top three on the Champions League goals leaderboard and just missed a first-half hat trick with an open look at a potential third. Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz were the ones to find the back of the net in the impressive showing. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/647s2zqN4U Villarreal take the early lead over Bayern 😲

(via @CBSSportsGolazo)pic.twitter.com/eBcAlaqiKP Clinical from Kevin De Bruyne on his 50th #UCL appearance. BACK TO BACK #UCL HAT-TRICKS FOR KARIM BENZEMA, HE GETS A GIFT. 🎁 pic.twitter.com/2a0g1b0we7 Karim Benzema. Two perfect headers in three minutes.

Ridiculous 🤯

(via @TUDNUSA)pic.twitter.com/xrPNHh3W64 Diaz in particular shined with an assist on the Mane goal and his own insurance goal in the 87th minute. Salah is the one in the top five for goals for Liverpool, but they used more of a balanced attack to create a two-goal lead over Benfica in Tuesday's matchup. Liverpool defeated Benfica 3-1 and Manchester City defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal ties on Tuesday, while Real Madrid defeated Chelsea 3-1 and Villarreal defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in their first legs on Wednesday. While much of the attention is on the results as the eight remaining teams battle for the title, there was also a shakeup when it came to the top scorers in Champions League play thus far with Karim Benzema scoring a hat trick for Real Madrid.

Karim Benzema's hat-trick in the Champions League first-leg over Chelsea has Real Madrid with one foot in the semi-finals after an impressive 3-1 victory at ...

– Benzema and Vinicius have combined for five Champions League goals this season; a tally more than any other duo in the competition this term. “Benzema helps the team in build-ups, he presses, he’s always moving – so difficult to mark him. The tie isn’t over, we have to win at home.” “It’s a shame that I couldn’t stop their goal as the ball hit my palm, but it’s a good victory in difficult circumstances. – The 34-year-old has become the first French player to reach 10+ goals in a single campaign in the Champions League. – For the first time in his career, the striker has now been involved in 50 goals in one season, registering 37 goals and 13 assists.

Villarreal pulled off another surprising Champions League result with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku had a great chance with a header of his own when there was still more than 20 minutes to go, but glanced it wide of the post, resulting in groans around Stamford Bridge. Edouard Mendy was about 30 yards out from goal when the ball came to him and the goalkeeper brought it down with his chest. The team is playing in the quarterfinals for a record 20th time. First with a low shot from outside the area that hit the post in the 53rd, and 10 minutes later after intercepting a bad pass by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer near midfield and missing his long-range shot into the open net. It was Danjuma's sixth goal in nine Champions League appearances this season, and seventh in 11 career games in the competition. Villarreal looked in control from the start and Bayern struggled to create significant scoring chances.

With another hat trick against Chelsea to put Real Madrid ahead 3-1 on aggregate after the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal series, Benzema ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Atletico Madrid Nov. 2 vs. Nov. 2 vs. Apr. 6 vs. Game 3 La Liga: Benzema has 24 goals and 11 assists in La Liga play alone, leading the league in both categories. Not only is he scoring goals in bunches, he's also assisting chances for teammates, racking up double-digit assist totals as well. But luckily for the Galacticos, they had claimed a 3-1 first-leg win and advanced 6-5 on aggregate. He also has 13 goals in his last seven games across all competitions.

VILLARREAL, Spain (AP) — Villarreal pulled off another surprising Champions League result, this time against sixth-time champion Bayern Munich to boost its ...

The team is playing in the quarterfinals for a record 20th time. Liverpool won the first leg in Lisbon 3-1. First with a low shot from outside the area that hit the post in the 53rd, and 10 minutes later after intercepting a bad pass by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer near midfield and missing his long-range shot into the open net. It was Danjuma’s sixth goal in nine Champions League appearances this season, and seventh in 11 career games in the competition. Villarreal looked in control from the start and Bayern struggled to create significant scoring chances. Villarreal stunned Juventus 3-0 in Italy after a 1-1 draw at home in the last 16.

Chelsea have a habit of snatching successes in the face of adversity but is a Champions League turnaround against Real Madrid beyond them?

The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League has produced several memorable nights, with so many great individual performances and the first leg of the quarter-finals ...

It turned out to be a stroke of genius from the Spaniard. A mere 79 seconds after stepping onto the pitch, Foden took the game by the horns when he ventured forward in attack on a probing run. Overall, it was a stellar performance from Diaz, whose rampaging runs down the left wing unbalanced Benfica’s defenders and forced them into making a series of mistakes. But for all their domination, the Blues couldn’t find a way to unlock the Spaniard’s defence - at times, it looked like manager Diego Simeone set his team up in a 5-5-0 formation just to frustrate the reigning Premier League champions. A mere 50 seconds into the second half he completed his hat trick, pouncing on an error from Mendy to stunt any chance of a Chelsea comeback. Benzema, 34, now has 37 goals in all competitions in 2021-22 for the Spanish club, and he joined an elite group - alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski - as the only men to score more than 80 career goals in the Champions League. It could have been far worse for the Bavarians if not for Davies, who made a spectacular recovery run to snuff out a clear scoring chance by Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno with a timely block.

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals began on Tuesday as two title contenders, Liverpool and Manchester City both took all three points in their ...

2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV 2-0 LIV If they can keep the ball on the ground and be smart in their distribution, they can limit the chances and get a key clean sheet. Man of the Match pick: Thiago Alcantara has the technical ability to dominate and dictate this sort of contest and he will be one of the main dangers Benfica seek to neutralize. Adding to the stakes is the fact that Otamendi is a booking away from second-leg suspension so will be walking a tightrope from the off. It's hard to look at this matchup and come away with the expectation that anyone will have a larger say in how things will go than Benzema. With eight goals already in Champions League play, Benzema has been instrumental in Real's performance.

Gabriel Jesus is suspended for Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, after picking up his third booking in ...

So much so that links with a summer move away from the club have grown stronger. His protests earned him a yellow card for dissent - his third of the competition. Since that game back in September, Jesus has failed to register a Premier League goal and found himself in and out of the team on a regular basis.

Europe's wealthiest clubs will be able to spend even more after the replacement for Financial Fair Play is approved...

But by the fourth season of enforcement, 75% to 100% of that prize money and TV cash could be deducted for breaching the threshold by the same amount. All the talk of UEFA reconsidering the historic merit places — that would have allowed Arsenal to return to the Champions League this season — has been repelled. City and PSG are yet to win the Champions League, though. UEFA did not seize the opportunity to scale back the enlargement in the wake of the Super League debacle. Just look to Spain to see how much of a difference being in the Champions League can make for a club. The same season saw Valencia bank 60.8 million euros ($66 million) from reaching the Champions League last 16.

Thomas Tuchel is taking on a modern great in Carlo Ancelotti, but who are the most successful coaches of the Champions League era?

It speaks of Del Bosque’s adaptability and shrewd man-management that the side he took to Hampden Park in 2002 looked somewhat different, with the first Galacticos era in full swing. Guardiola’s failure to win a Champions League at Bayern is a stick his critics regularly use to beat him. Los Blancos dealt compatriots Valencia the first of their consecutive final defeats in Paris thanks to goals from Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Raul. Porto emerged from an upset-laden and chaotic 2003/04 Champions League as the victors after seeing off Monaco 3-0 in the final. Guardiola finally scaled that hurdle again with Manchester City last season, thanks to an authoritative 4-1 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain, but then the freshly crowned Premier League champions ran into Tuchel’s Chelsea. The Rossoneri and Ancelotti had their revenge against the same opponents in Athens two years later, with Filippo Inzaghi scoring both goals in a 2-1 win.

Hello and welcome to The Athletic's live coverage of today's football news.The Champions League returned yesterday with Premier League title rivals ...

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as it happened: live blog, updates, highlights, lineups, comments, etc.

Real Madrid starting lineup (4-3-1-2?): Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3): The big one, even if it’s just the quarterfinals.

VILLARREAL, Spain — Alphonso Davies has been named to Bayern Munich's starting 11 for its Champions League quarterfinal Wednesday against Spain's Villarreal ...

Bayern currently tops the Bundesliga standings. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022. The illness kept the 21-year-old from Edmonton out of Canada's final six CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches.

Karim Benzema set a new Champions League record for goals scored in a season by a French player after scoring a hat-trick for Real Madrid at Chelsea.

Most Goals In Champions League Season Although Benzema's 11 goals set a new French record, the overall Champions League record for most goals in a season is still held by Cristiano Ronaldo. Most Goals In A European Cup Season By A French Player

While the future of Chelsea football club remains in turmoil off the field, the team suffered a torrid night on the pitch in its Champions League ...

It was a second consecutive hat trick for the Frenchman in this competition, coming after his heroics in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. With the semifinals looking like a distant dream for Chelsea, the home support started to become frustrated but there was still a twist to come in a frantic first half. It was a game that promised to look very different when the draw was made.

Another rapid fire hat-trick from Karim Benzema, this time against Chelsea, has Real Madrid with one foot in the semis while Villarreal have sprung an ...

It was Danjuma’s sixth goal in nine Champions League appearances this season, and seventh in 11 career games in the competition. Villarreal looked in control from the start and Bayern struggled to create significant scoring chances. Their next four opponents, for example, are Manchester United, Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro represent arguably the finest Champions League midfield in history. We look at great Barcelona, Manchester United and ...

It was a similar story in a more emphatic 3-1 triumph when the sides met at Wembley two years later, with Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets combining to plonk United on what Ferguson had previously termed the passing “carousel”. Large helpings of luck and fleets of parked buses meant Barca never made it back-to-back European titles under Guardiola, with Inter and Chelsea frustrating them in the 2010 and 2012 semi-finals respectively. But where the likes of Jose Mourinho’s Porto and Chelsea sides had a hard, pragmatic edge, the inimitable Andrea Pirlo brought beauty to the Serie A side’s play. Alex Ferguson’s United had already won a couple of domestic doubles in the mid-1990s but it was his team at the end of the decade that took their achievements global. Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf all stayed on, but subsequent last-16 losses to Arsenal, United and Tottenham showed the magic had faded. Veron’s move to United might not have been a success on its own terms, but Ferguson rightly detected the winds of change. After that, Kaka replaced cult hero Rui Costa as the number 10 playing ahead of Ancelotti’s midfield trident and his Milan truly had lift-off. However, Scholes and Keane sat out the final through suspension as a patched-up midfield featuring Jesper Blomqvist found a way past Bayern Munich in unforgettably dramatic fashion. Aided by the abolition of the previously mentioned three overseas rule (no need to bench Peter Schmeichel for a hammering at Camp Nou anymore!), United were able to more easily transfer their form in England onto the continental stage. Another veteran of Arrigo Sacchi’s tenure, the tireless Roberto Donadoni, provided a contrasting threat on the right to Boban on the left. The quartet laid waste to Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ in the 1994 final, where Desailly was brilliantly on the scoresheet. The Rossoneri were hardly short of quality central defensive options, which meant Desailly found himself deployed as a roving, powerhouse midfielder.

A second hat trick in as many Champions League games from Benzema put Madrid in command of their quarterfinal.

The first half is a repetition of the second half against Brentford. You cannot expect a result from this kind of performance." He is invariably live to what is going on around him, primed to escalate a nervy wobble into a full blown moment of chaos. As Madrid drove down the right in one attack, it seemed like he was going to stay close to Andreas Christensen, who had Vinicius Junior to worry about over his shoulder. Few strikers have cracked the Chelsea defense, one which is a master of stopping forwards getting the ball in the box. Thiago Silva's tendency was to drop deep and wait for the run that would inevitably come, but in doing so, he found himself without a head start. Wherever there was the most sizeable pocket between Thomas Tuchel's back three and his two midfield sitters, Benzema would be provocatively positioned in the center of it, daring someone to abandon their post. For sure he helped the team a lot in possession, movement, he's always in the right position to help us." A sigh seemed to echo around Stamford Bridge, a lot of admiration mixed into the disappointment. He could not quite meet Vinicius Junior's cross in stride, thrusting his hips forward at the last moment to cannon the ball toward the net. That would have been enough to keep them in the game against a Chelsea side who, Kai Havertz aside, deeply underwhelmed. Men with 34 years on the clock are not supposed to be able to contort their bodies like that. First against Paris Saint-Germain, the Harlem Globetrotters of the Champions League, and then the competition's reigning champions Chelsea. No one is shining brighter amid the galaxy of talent.

Bayern Munich drew a rare blank against Villarreal to end the club's run of scoring in the Champions League.

Right now, we need to prepare for the second leg and fight back." We'll take the 1-0 because it could have been worse. Bayern Munich drew a rare blank against Villarreal to end the club's incredible run of scoring in the Champions League.

French striker confirms his reputation as one of the best in the game with a second consecutive treble for Spanish giants.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku had a great chance with a header of his own when there was still more than 20 minutes to go, but glanced it wide of the post, resulting in groans around Stamford Bridge. Edouard Mendy was about 30 yards out from goal when the ball came to him and the goalkeeper brought it down with his chest. “I think it helped us that our build-up play from the back was good,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won the 2010 Premier League with Chelsea. “We found space between the lines. Then I got another and I’m very happy.” The precision of Benzema’s first-half headers -- after getting on the end of crosses from Vinicius Jr. in the 21st minute and Luka Modric in the 24th – was in contrast to the shortcomings of Chelsea’s No. 9. “They’re magic nights,” Benzema said.

Arnaut Danjuma's early goal gave Villarreal a surprise 1-0 home win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

The visitors, who had failed to register a shot on target, had it all to do at half-time. Francis Coquelin’s attempted cross flew into the net, but referee Anthony Taylor was told the French midfielder had been offside after a VAR check and Bayern breathed again. The former Bournemouth winger Danjuma gave the Spaniards a slender advantage going into the return leg by scoring the only goal early in the first half at Estadio de la Cerámica.

A downcast Thomas Tuchel declared Chelsea's position in the Champions League quester-final against Real Madrid irretrievable after Karim Benzema's hat-trick ...

“We need to find our competitive spirit and then we can talk. “If you want to put it [like] this sentence, put it [like] this sentence,” he said. “Because we have to find our level back.