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FAfter the quarter-finals of the Champions League just a few weeks ago (we had predicted all correctly, apart from the extraordinary VAR-fest that is Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur), the winners are faced in the first semifinal.
The Spurs have entered their first European semi-final since 1984, welcoming the tournament's underdogs, Ajax – who should now be called "black horses", given how they knocked out Real Madrid and Juventus up to # 39, now. And in the other match, Barcelona, who was crowned Liga champion for the 26th time last weekend, faced Jurgen Klopp's big Liverpool for a clbadic European clash.
At half-time, before the kickoff of the second leg, next week we will see which teams have a ball in the final to be held in the ultramodern Wanda Metropolitano Stadium of Atletico Madrid on June 1st.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Ajax
After spending just under £ 1 billion in their new stadium, the Spurs continue to live up to a rather infamous Tube advertisement, claiming it was the only place to watch football in the Champions League. in the capital this season. And among the other three teams still in contention, Ajax would undoubtedly be the favorite opponent of Mauricio Pochettino in his first European semifinal as manager.
Ajax came full of confidence after beating Real Madrid in their own stadium and shocked Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus 3-2 overall in the next round. They also enjoyed a full week of rest, with the Dutch FA reporting all of Eredivisie's weekend games to give Erik Ten Hag's team more time to prepare for the match. the Champions League. Dutch President Eric Gudde confirmed that this measure was "taken to help Dutch football as a whole". However, many English supporters claim that this gives an advantage to the other teams and deplores the lack of similar action of the FA; the much larger television offerings of the Premier League make this operation almost impossible to duplicate.
As expected, Ajax started more brilliantly and it took only 15 minutes for Donny van de Beek to seize considerable space and time in the city. Spurs' penalty area to take his place and place the ball in front of a defenseless ball, Hugo Lloris. The Spurs had a better appearance after a head injury that forced Jan Vertonghen to be replaced by Moussa Sissoko, but even in the second half, they failed to put Ajax's goalkeeper in the lead. Event, but Fernando Llorente had his best chance. The Ajax, however, was still a very real threat and David Neres was about to make two by hitting the post.
Tottenham will be somewhat relieved to have maintained the score at zero and will be delighted to find Son Heung-min in the second tie (he was suspended for the first game in North London). missed his pace and his creativity in attack. They must score during their visit to Amsterdam if they hope to reach the final, but the idea that this young and exciting Dutch team will not produce when they have already scored 20 goals in the Champions League this season is naive. It is not impossible that the white lilies cause a shock, but the mere fact that they spend in the second leg as oppressed shows how much this Ajax team has progressed.
Prediction second step: Ajax Progress (Sorry, Poch, again).
Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool
The idea that the score of this first match would be three, on either side, was simply not retained by any sensible viewer of the match. Both teams behave perfectly in their respective national leagues and have a pool of talented – and expensive – players to choose from. In fact, Barcelona included Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez in their starting lineup, both bought at the Merseyside club against around £ 200m. If the previous match was the battle of the underdogs, it was the shock of the favorites.
To their credit, Liverpool actually started the game very well, keeping a good part of the ball and sounding the Barcelona defense – which is rarely done at Camp Nou. In the first half, Sadio Mané had a good chance but shot over the bar. Liverpool continued on the pace in the second half with two kicks set by Marc-Andre ter Stegen on James Milner, before Barcelona emerges another attempt from the goal line and Mohamed Salah hits the post.
Barcelona, in their usual way, was calculated and clinical. Suárez scored his first goal in the Champions League this season against his former club in the 26th minute, before the break ended with an empty net for Lionel Messi. Naturally, the men of Jurgen Klopp seemed stunned to be two draws after having the lion's share. But it was – as is almost always the case – Messi's 30-meter freekick for which we will remember the night, his 600th goal in a Barcelona jersey. Klopp confirmed after the match that "In these moments he is unstoppable."
Liverpool will be happy that a counterattack by Ousmane Dembele in injury time has not made four minutes, but even with the total score, it will take an extraordinary performance to qualify for the final. Anfield can be a very difficult place to go – especially during a night in the Champions League – and Barça will make things happen, but if the Catalan club scores only a goal on the outside , the match is almost over. If there is one defeat candidate most equal to three in the history of European football, this match ranks above all others.
Prediction second step: Barcelona progress ("Messi effect").
Now read:
Who will participate in the next round of the Champions League?
The Champions League is back: here's why you should be excited
Is the Liverpool title going out of steam?
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