Manchester City and Real Madrid both set foot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday with wins in the first leg of the quarter-finals. City got a late goal from Phil Foden to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Etihad, while Blancos tore up Liverpool’s defense to claim a 3-1 win over Anfield ahead of next week’s second leg.
Here are three takeaways from the action. And don’t forget, you can see more UCL action, including the big PSG game against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, on Paramount +.
Play conservatively and it’s worth it
This draw between Real Madrid and Liverpool made it seem like the thin defense was stepping up in the absence of superstars. Both teams were without their usual center-back squad, with Sergio Ramos and Raphale Varane both coming out for Los Blancos, with news of the latter having just tested positive for COVID-19 coming just hours ahead of time. Match. Virgil van Dijk’s big knee injury still sees him on the road to recovery.
Well the answer was clearly Real Madrid. While Liverpool’s defense was horrendous overall, Real’s looked sharp by design. Indeed, Zinedine Zidane helped Casemiro sit deeper and Ferland Mendy also remaining behind, with Jurgen Klopp’s side having only managed one shot on goal.
Take a look at the image below, where Casemiro is a few yards from the back line while the Reds are in possession of the final third, which shows you just how much cover he has provided at times.
So what help have they been? While Mendy was solid, it was Casemiro who shone with eight tackles, two interceptions, 17 duels and recovering the ball 10 times higher.
Expect a similar look in the return leg for Zinedine Zidane.
Fancy even more coverage of the global game? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A daily CBS football podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the world for commentary, previews, recaps and more.
Dortmund still alive and well
City will be happy with the 2-1 win as they looked to be heading for a draw but don’t count Dortmund just yet. Of course, their form was horrible in the Bundesliga, and they showed very little until late, but the odds were there. As they were robbed by the umpire for a goal early in the second half thanks to a missed call, they continued to sit and try to surprise with Erling Haaland. They did it late, as the Norwegian striker played this delicious ball to Marco Reus:
A 2-1 loss isn’t all that bad for Dortmund, and that tie isn’t close to being over. It sets up a delicious second leg where Dortmund have to score, and they will try to be a bit more in the forefront at home. City will have their chances, but Dortmund will be confident they can strike early and give them the kind of shock Lyon provided last season.
The Reds’ horrific defense has them about to come out
Moving from Van Dijk to Ozan Kabak and Nathaniel Phillips is like leaving the Premier League for the Azerbaijani Premier League. The drop is massive and inexperience has been demonstrated. Whether he was beaten on first base with a ball on top until the last goal seeing them fail to put pressure on a wide open Vinicius in the box, it was like an introductory class on how not to defend .
Take a look at the lack of reaction:
It all happened after the team performed well at the back, conceding just twice in six games. But the attack of Arsenal, Wolves and RB Leipzig is not up to Real. And maybe we should all have seen that coming, as comparable attacks have destroyed Liverpool. Man. City have put four behind them recently, and Manchester United have put three behind them. Against high-level attacks, this repaired defense didn’t stand a chance, and Tuesday was another example.