It was a disappointing night at Anfield for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane after they failed to write their names in Liverpool’s history books on Wednesday night.
The duo fired blanks as the Reds crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, UCL, after they were held to a goalless draw at home by Real Madrid in their quarter-final second leg match.
Egypt’s Mo Salah needed just a goal to equal Steven Gerrard’s club record of scoring in five successive European matches while his Senegalese teammate, Mane would have moved joint-third with Michael Owen on the club’s all-time European goalscorers chart.
However, after 90 minutes of football, only the wasteful Salah came close to scoring a goal against Los Blancos but was denied by brilliant goalkeeping from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as early as the second minute before missing another glorious chance just before the break.
The LaLiga giants also had their chance with Karim Benzema hitting the woodwork but held on for a draw that was enough to see them seal a 3-1 aggregate win and a place in the semifinal thanks to that wonderful performance in the first leg in Spain.
A disappointed Jurgen Klopp reflected on that first leg in Spain and had this to say after the match tonight;
“The third goal in Madrid was the real disappointment. If we’d managed to score in the first 15 minutes of the game today (at Anfield), things might have been different.”
The Reds turn attention to the Premier League, where they are in danger of missing out of the top four and a place in next season’s Champions League, UCL.
“We need to be in this competition next season,” manager, Klopp added. “We’re Liverpool and we love this competition. It’s really important for us.”
For Real Madrid, their latest semifinal appearance, the first since 2018, means they have now reached this stage of the competition a record 14 times and will face another English opposition in Chelsea in the last four.
Meanwhile, while it ended in tears for Salah and Mane at home, in faraway German, it was celebration galore for Riyad Mahrez as Manchester City defeated Borussia Dortmund to pick up a semi-final ticket.
It was an easy ride for Pep Guardiola and his side though, they had to do it the hard way, coming from a lovely Jude Bellingham goal down to beat the Yellow and Black 1-2 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.
African Champion, Algeria’s Mahrez kickstarted the comeback when he slotted home a penalty in the second half before Phil Foden sealed the win 15 minutes from time with a wonderful second.
The victory means Guardiola City have reached the semi-final stage of the UCL for the second time ever and first under Guardiola, who has now reached his eighth UEFA Champions League semi-final, the joint-most in the history of the competition amongst all managers, alongside José Mourinho.
