Real Madrid defeats Liverpool & advances to CL quarter finals

• Real Madrid defeats Liverpool & advances to CL quarter-finals.
• Jurgen Klopp acknowledged his team had only a 1% chance of reversing the situation.
• Liverpool has been eliminated from the Champions League by Madrid three times in a row.

With a 1-0 victory over Liverpool, Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid advance to the Champions League quarterfinals with a 6-2 aggregate victory.

Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, acknowledged that his team had only a one percent chance of reversing the situation following the previous heated match in February at Anfield, where Madrid had a three-goal advantage.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, they stopped the bleeding, but they never looked like they could make a dramatic comeback like they did against Barcelona in 2019 or AC Milan in the 2005 final.

Liverpool has been eliminated from the Champions League by Madrid three times in a row, including in the final last year.

Benzema told Movistar, “It was a complicated game but from the start we showed we wanted to go through, and we are in the quarter-finals,”

“Suffering is part of today’s football. Everyone wants more, but sometimes you have to suffer in a game — the most important thing is to win and go through.”

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defenders Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger, as well as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, were determined to keep Liverpool at bay, and the 14-time record holders displayed the bravado necessary to do so.

If not for a string of superb saves from Liverpool’s Alisson Becker and some unusually wasteful finishing, Madrid, the current champion, could have significantly extended their lead.

Vinicius Junior and Benzema scored twice for Madrid in the first leg, but neither player was as decisive.

However in the end they joined for Madrid’s victor following 78 minutes, with Vinicius slipping as he attempted to shoot, yet guiding the ball into Benzema’s way for a straightforward tap-in.

Benzema said it was just a blow to the shin, and Carlo Ancelotti said he would be fit to play Barcelona in the Clasico on Sunday. This was Madrid’s only concern during an injury-plagued season.

Klopp told, “Madrid were in control of the whole game, Ali had to make two sensational saves to keep us in the game,”

“Madrid were outstanding and that’s why the better team went through to the next round.”

Even though Liverpool has been very inconsistent this season, they were encouraged by their 7-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United, but they were unable to replicate that magic under the Bernabeu’s lights.

Diogo Jota and his usual attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo were Klopp’s starting lineup as he attempted to mount a comeback.

Nunez had the first opportunity of the game, but Salah fed Courtois, who stopped the Uruguayan.

Alisson made a stunning save to deny Vinicius from close range as Madrid repeatedly sliced Liverpool open at the other end.

Alisson got his hands on a long-range effort from Eduardo Camavinga that hit the crossbar.

As Madrid took control of the game, the Brazilian goalkeeper made additional stops against Vinicius, Fede Valverde, and Benzema.

Camavinga performed admirably in the midfield and ultimately contributed to the goal that Benzema scored by driving forward a pass in the buildup.

Benzema added, “I told him a few small details, like how I know that the two Liverpool centre-backs play open, there’s space in the middle, and that’s how we scored the goal.”

The striker has scored seven goals against Liverpool in the Champions League, more than any other player.

If Benzema can stay healthy, Madrid will be able to win the trophy for the sixth time in ten years.

At the conclusion of the game, Madrid played the classic Liverpool anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” which was both a classy touch and also evidence that Liverpool never made them truly uncomfortable.

After their remarkable run to the final in the previous season, Ancelotti said that Madrid had a lot of faith.

Italian said, “We have a lot more confidence, because of what happened last year, it gave us a lot of confidence,”

“We saw that in this tie, against a strong team, we did well in the two games.

“But later, with confidence alone, we don’t reach the semi-finals. We have to play surprising football … as always, the Champions League is very complicated and we have to compete until the end.”

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