Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea (Madrid advance 5-4 on aggregate AET)

Luka Modric turned the tie and Karim Benzema settled it as Real Madrid held off a sensational fightback from Chelsea on Tuesday to win an enthralling Champions League quarter-final 5-4 on aggregate.

After being thrashed by Brentford and then outplayed by Madrid in the first leg last week, Chelsea came in rejuvenated after putting six past Southampton in the Premier League last weekend.

Mount’s goal in the 15th minute set the tone, Madrid immediately consumed by tension and Chelsea given early hope.

Mateo Kovacic had been key in the buildup but it was Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s quick pass into Werner that caught Madrid cold, the German steering the ball with his knee into the path of Mount, who advanced and fired past Courtois.

For 20 minutes, Chelsea were dictating, Madrid pegged back. Reece James was doing a fine job restricting Vinicius Junior, blocking Madrid’s escape route.

Benzema, Modric and Toni Kroos tried to wrestle back control but Chelsea’s authority was even more pronounced early in the second half and within minutes they had a second, Rudiger rising high at the back post to head in from a corner.

With their lead gone, Madrid briefly exerted, the crowd coming into the contest. But Chelsea were celebrating a third when Marcos Alonso pivoted round Dani Carvajal’s sliding tackle and slammed into the top corner.

Madrid looked beaten, the stadium dead, but the referee was waiting. VAR spotted Alonso had controlled with his hand and when the decision was reversed, the Bernabeu erupted.

With 28 minutes left, the tie was back in the balance. Madrid had renewed impetus and almost scored, Benzema’s looping header at the back post dropping on to the crossbar.

But it was brief, Chelsea coming again in the 73rd minute as Kovacic slid through Werner, who coolly slalomed past two sliding Madrid defenders and sent a deflected finish dribbling into the corner.

A disappointed Kroos was taken off before a wild contest turned again on the moment of magic from Modric. With the outside of his foot, Modric stroked a 30-yard pass over to the right of the penalty area where Rodrygo, on as a substitute, volleyed in.

Chelsea looked the more likely to nick a late winner and nearly did, Kai Havertz nodding across the six-yard box but Christian Pulisic shot over.

Into extra time and Madrid found another gear, Vinicius finally finding space to tear into. His floated cross might have been easily cleared by Rudiger but the defender slipped, giving Benzema just enough space to guide his header in.

Chelsea then threw everything at Madrid in the final minutes, Courtois saving from Werner before Fede Valverde had to block a shot from Thiago Silva. Edouard Mendy went up for a final corner but it was cleared, Madrid holding on.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Villarreal (Villarreal advance 2-1 on aggregate)

Villarreal dumped Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Tuesday, Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute strike at the Allianz Arena giving the Spaniards a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their quarter-final tie that took them through 2-1 on aggregate.

Villarreal were pinned in their own half for most of the first half as Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Hernandez dictated play from the back.

Yet, for all their domination of possession, a header by Jamal Musiala straight at Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was Bayern’s only clear chance of a goalless first half.

Lewandowski, who was largely well marshalled, earned the first booking of the game.

The Villarreal back four worked tirelessly throughout, but left back Pervis Estupinan had a particularly busy first half as Leroy Sane constantly probed down the flank.

Bayern finally broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute.

A loose pass out of defence only got as far as Kingsley Coman, who moved the ball to Mueller.

The Germany star slipped the ball into the path of Lewandowski, who managed to get his shot past two defenders and the diving Rulli.

The Poland striker let out a primal scream to celebrate his 13th goal in 10 Champions League games this season.

Bayern kept up the pressure as Mueller went close with a diving header and was left with his head in his hands, as was Coman when he fired over soon after.

Nagelsmann sent on some fresh legs in a bid to get a decisive second goal inside the 90 minutes by bringing on Serge Gnabry and Alphonso Davies.

However, Villarreal stunned the home crowd when Gerard Moreno broke down the left.

He put in a low cross which Chukwueze sent spinning over Neuer to send the Spaniards through.

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Liverpool were drawn to play Benfica as all three remaining English clubs were kept apart and Bayern Munich were paired with Spanish side Villarreal.

Chelsea are hoping to defend their title in Europe despite turmoil at the Stamford Bridge club, who were put up for sale after the British government placed Russian owner Roman Abramovich under sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Thomas Tuchel’s team are due to play Real at home in the first leg on April 5 or 6, before the return at the Santiago Bernabeu a week later.

It was reported this week that Chelsea may have to play their next Champions League home ties behind closed doors due to EU sanctions on Abramovich that prevent them from selling tickets.

Chelsea beat Madrid — now coached by ex-Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti — in the semi-finals last season on the way to defeating Pep Guardiola’s City in the final in Porto and lifting the Champions League trophy for the second time under Abramovich’s ownership.

With the draw for the semi-finals taking place at the same time, Chelsea and City know they will meet each other in the last four should they both progress through their quarter-final ties against Spanish opponents, but a Madrid derby at that stage is also a possibility.

Having eliminated Manchester United in the last 16, Atletico will return to northwest England for the first leg of their tie against City, which sees Guardiola pit his wits against Diego Simeone.

The quarter-finals are set! ✔️

What’s your reaction to the draw?#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/Je3NQHabuy

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 18, 2022

– Favourable draw for Liverpool –
Liverpool, the 2019 European champions who are still in contention to win a quadruple this season, will be hotly fancied to get the better of two-time European Cup winners Benfica, with the first leg of that tie to be played in Lisbon.

Benfica are currently just third in the Portuguese league this season but they qualified for the last 16 at the expense of Barcelona and then ousted a much-fancied Ajax side.

The winners of that tie will face either Bayern or Villarreal in the last four, with the German giants heading to Spain for the first leg against Unai Emery’s side.

Villarreal won last season’s Europa League and reached the Champions League quarter-finals by stunning Juventus, beating the Italians 3-0 in Turin on Wednesday to go through 4-1 on aggregate.

The semi-finals of the Champions League will be played in late April and early May, with the final taking place at the Stade de France in Paris on May 28.

The match was initially due to be played in Saint Petersburg before the Russian city was stripped of the match by UEFA due to Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

It is the third year running that UEFA has moved the Champions League final with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to the 2020 edition being switched from Istanbul to Lisbon, and then again from the Turkish city to Porto last year.

The 80,000-capacity Stade de France, in Saint-Denis just to the north of the French capital, has hosted the Champions League final twice before, in 2000 when Real Madrid beat Valencia, and in 2006 when Barcelona defeated Arsenal.

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Coach Thomas Tuchel had insisted there could be no excuses for his team despite the Blues being left in turmoil after Roman Abramovich’s assets were frozen, with Chelsea only being allowed to continue operating by the British government under a special licence.

They have been banned from selling tickets and were told they could not spend more than £20,000 ($26,300) per match on travel costs, throwing their plans for this trip across the English Channel into some disarray.

Before kick-off on Wednesday it emerged that the Ricketts family, owners of Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, were leading a consortium looking to buy the club while British athletics great Sebastian Coe announced his involvement in a rival bid.

On the pitch, Lille looked determined to add to Chelsea’s woes as they started at an excellent tempo and Yilmaz twice came close in the early stages.

The visitors lost Danish defender Andreas Christensen to injury just after the half-hour mark, and his replacement, Trevoh Chalobah, was booked for pulling down Jonathan David within seconds of coming on.

Lille then won a penalty in the 38th minute when Italian referee Davide Massa was alerted by the VAR to a handball in the box by Jorginho.

He pointed to the spot after reviewing the images, and veteran Turkish striker Yilmaz made no mistake.

Yet the home side, crucially, could not hold their lead until the break.

In the third added minute, Jorginho slid a terrific pass into the path of Pulisic in the box, and the United States international found the far corner.

That took the sting out of the game and Lille’s remaining hopes of a comeback were ended when they lost two of their defenders, Zeki Celik and Sven Botman, to injury just before the hour mark.

Xeka rattled the post with a header from a Yilmaz cross in the 63rd minute but just like their only previous last-16 appearance – a defeat by Manchester United in 2007 – Lille found English opposition to be just too strong.

Chelsea got their second goal when substitute Mason Mount’s cross from the left was turned in by the knee of Azpilicueta at the back post, and the skipper ran across to celebrate with the travelling support high in the far corner of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

In the other game, Villarreal reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday after inflicting a humiliating 3-0 defeat on Juventus in Turin to go through 4-1 on aggregate.

Penalties from Gerard Moreno and Arnaut Danjuma and Pau Torres’ tap-in in the final quarter of an hour were enough for Unai Emery’s well-organised side to see off the Italians at the Allianz Stadium and make Friday’s last-eight draw.

Missing a host of starters and with Paulo Dybala, Giorgio Chiellini and Federico Bernardeschi only on the bench, Juve started well and had the first opportunity in the 11th minute of a breathless first half when Alvaro Morata had his powerful header well saved by Geronimo Rulli.

Two minutes later, Morata was involved again when he and Juan Cuadrado, who had supplied the cross for the Spaniard’s header moments before, stepped on each other’s toes and allowed a huge chance to shoot go begging.

Then Dusan Vlahovic had a long-range drive pushed aside before he was denied by the crossbar, his first-time strike from Mattia De Sciglio’s cross beating Rulli but thwacking out off the woodwork in the 21st minute.

Juve were almost punished for their inability to put away their chances seconds later when Giovani Lo Celso charged forward with teammates swarming into the home team’s box and with options to either side curled a shot just wide.

Villarreal clearly decided to shut up shop in the early minutes of the second half in the hope of stemming the flow of Juve chances and the game slowed down to almost a crawl until Adrien Rabiot thumped an effort from distance at Rulli and Cuadrado fired wide on the hour.

The away side easily held Juve at bay for the rest of the match and when Francis Coquelin was clumsily brought down by Daniele Rugani, substitute Moreno was fresh enough to send his spot kick past Wojciech Szczesny with 12 minutes remaining.

Moreno’s goal, which came after referee Szymon Marciniak’s pitchside video check, deflated the crowd and when Torres pushed home the second from Serge Aurier’s cross in the 85th minute the game was well and truly up.

The boos began to ring around the stadium, and they only got louder when Matthijs de Ligt charged down Danjuma’s shot with his arm in the closing moments and the Netherlands international made it a perfect evening for Villarreal, and a nightmare for Juve.

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Ronaldo’s chipped finish gave his team the lead in the 78th minute at the Ceramica before Jadon Sancho added a second late on to secure United’s place in the last 16.

“It’s what he does,” said Carrick about Ronaldo. “In the big games, the big moments, when you need a goal or that something, he’s there to deliver.

“He has that cold, calculated mentality to stay calm. He doesn’t snatch at chances. I’m delighted to have him and not surprised at all he managed to come up with a goal for us.”

Watch the full conference here:

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Villareal 0-2 Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo’s excellent goal helped Manchester United begin life after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 2-0 victory over Villarreal on Tuesday and seal their place in the Champions League last 16.

Ronaldo’s splendid lob was then capped by Jadon Sancho’s first United goal at the Ceramica, where caretaker manager Michael Carrick dropped Bruno Fernandes to the bench.

Fernandes was on the pitch for both of United’s goals after being brought on in the 66th minute, but it was Ronaldo who proved the difference again, his instinctive shot in the 78th unlocking a game that looked destined to remain goalless.

After a turbulent few days after Solskjaer was sacked following Saturday’s humiliating 4-1 defeat by Watford, United were able to calm the storm with a win that leaves them three points clear at the top of Group F.

Chelsea 4-0 Juventus

Chelsea cruised into the Champions League last 16 with an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Italian giants Juventus at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner sent Thomas Tuchel’s holders through to the knockout phase and to the top of Group H.

Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Bayern Munich

Robert Lewandowski scored with a magnificent overhead kick in the snow as Bayern Munich won 2-1 at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League Tuesday, even with five of their players in quarantine.

Lewandowski put Bayern ahead with a superbly timed bicycle kick to score for a ninth consecutive Champions League appearance.

With Bayern already through to the last 16 as Group E winners, Kingsley Coman doubled the visitors’ lead before Denys Garmash scored the hosts’ first goal in the competition this season.

In other results:
Barcelona 0–0 Benfica
Young Boys 3–3 Atalanta
Lille 1–0 Salzburg
Sevilla 2–0 Wolfsburg
Malmo FF 1–1 Zenit

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Manchester United 2-1 Villarreal

Cristiano Ronaldo capped his record-breaking Champions League appearance by firing Manchester United to a stunning late comeback win over Europa League final foes Villarreal.

Just four months on from the penalty shootout loss to Unai Emery’s side in Gdansk, the sides met again with the Red Devils needing to make up for their shock defeat at Young Boys in the Group F opener.

A disjointed United were staring down the barrel of a third straight home defeat in all competitions when Paco Alcacer deservedly put Villarreal ahead.

But Alex Telles’ sublime volley gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side hope and Ronaldo secured a 2-1 win in stoppage time, sending Old Trafford wild on the night he broke Iker Casillas’ all-time Champions League appearances record.

Juventus 1-0 Chelsea

Federico Chiesa’s rocket finish stunned Chelsea in Turin as Juventus condemned the Blues to a second straight 1-0 defeat.

Italy forward Chiesa sneaked in on goal and lashed past Edouard Mendy as Chelsea were caught cold just 11 seconds into the second half.

The visitors were still processing their half-time adjustments when Juventus struck, and Thomas Tuchel’s side never recovered.

Chelsea had opened their Champions League defence with a patchy 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg at Stamford Bridge on 14 September, and this loss left their Group H status in the balance.

Benfica 3-0 Barcelona

Barcelona have made their worst start to a Champions League campaign ever after a chastening 3-0 defeat at Benfica.

The Portuguese side dealt a further blow to Ronald Koeman, with Barcelona slumping to their second successive defeat in the competition as they also finished the match with 10 men.

Darwin Nunez netted in the third minute and capped his side’s scoring with a penalty in the 79th, with Rafa Silva striking in between. Eric Garcia was sent off late on.

The defeat means Barcelona are under pressure to avoid missing out on the knockout stage for the first time since the 2003-04 season when they did not feature in the competition at all.

In other results:
Bayern Munich 5- Dynamo Kyiv
Atalanta 1-0 Young Boys
RB Salzburg 2-1 Lille
Wolsburg 1-1 Sevilla
Zenit 4-0 Malmo FF

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The Yellow Submarine are eyeing the first major trophy in their 98-year history when they take on the Old Trafford giants in Gdansk on Wednesday.

Torres has been among the most discussed players in the buildup to the final as the defender’s exceptional displays have had him linked to United, having previously been on Manchester City’s radar.

But the 24-year-old Spain international is ignoring such background noise ahead of representing his local team on their biggest night.

‘Well, as you will understand, one day before the most important game of my life, I won’t think about anything else than what’s going to happen tomorrow,’ Torres said.

‘I’ve got my contract with Villarreal, which is my town, so I’m very quiet about it, very calm.’

Torres is among a number of players experiencing such an occasion for the first time but Villarreal boast a Europa League expert as manager.

Unai Emery led Sevilla to a hat-trick of successes from 2013-14 to 2015-16, then suffered defeat with Arsenal in the all-English final by Chelsea in 2019.

‘Every final is different,’ said the Spaniard, who has guided Villarreal to the final unbeaten. ‘The four previous finals I’ve played, in some I was favourite and some others I was not.

‘To be favourite, it’s always before the game, isn’t it? Then when you play those 90 minutes, to be able to have situations on your side, offensively, defensively, that mood, that spirit you can create in your team plays a lot.

‘For tomorrow we are very enthusiastic, we have got answers from the team at some important moments of the season so we know now we have a very, very strong and robust team.

‘Of course, Manchester United can be favourite, they are very good and if they play their best they can beat anyone but we will try and find some responses against this big team.’

Emery has enjoyed a promising first season at the Villarreal helm after a challenging spell at Arsenal, which came to an abrupt end when he was sacked in November 2019.

Asked if he felt he had something extra to prove after his spell at the Gunners – who he knocked out in the Europa League semi-finals – the Spaniard said: ‘No, not at all. Not at all.

‘I am very proud to be able to defend this Villarreal project, the president and everyone who has been working for years to be constructing in this village, in the end, such a big football project in Europe.

‘I want to enjoy it. There’s no revenge with any English team or English people.

‘I’m proud to work in this club and proud to be playing this final, defending Villarreal’s colours.’

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The 28-year-old centre back sustained ankle-ligament damage 16 days ago when Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi awkwardly landed on him.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had initially been upbeat about Maguire returning to skipper the side in Wednesday’s final in Gdansk, only for that positivity to wane last week despite the defender coming off his crutches.

But the centre back’s place in the 26-man squad travelling to Poland provided renewed hope, so too Solskjaer’s suggestion he would make a late bid to be involved against Villarreal.

‘Harry is just going to jog up and down the sideline, I reckon,’ the United boss said in his pre-match media conference.

‘He’ll probably try to join in [training] a little, but apart from that we’re looking quite good.’

Yet, within an hour it was clear that Maguire would be taking no part in Tuesday’s session.

The defender, who was named in England’s provisional 33-man squad for the European Championship earlier in the day, headed to the dugout rather than the pitch as his teammates started training.

Solskjaer went over to him 15 minutes into the session, before the United boss returned to the main group as a forlorn Maguire watched on.

Anthony Martial and Phil Jones did not travel with the squad to Poland due to injury, with the Norwegian facing some big selection decisions, including whether to start David De Gea or Dean Henderson in goal.

‘It’s always difficult to leave players out, but it’s throughout the whole season,’ Solskjaer said.

‘A final is a reward for what you’ve done the whole season, then if there’s a doubt between a couple it’s the form in the latter stages, of course.

‘But we’ll enjoy the last session and the players will get the team tomorrow.’

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Roma 3-2 Manchester United (Man United win 8-5 on aggregate)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men took a comfortable 4-goal lead into the second leg but Roma started brightly and forced David de Gea into a couple of early saves.

The Red Devils, however, grew into the game and broke the deadlock through Cavani whose powerful shot left the keeper with little chance.

The Italians turned the game round in the second half with two goals in three minutes as first Edin Dzeko headed home before Bryan Cristante fired them into the lead with 60 minutes gone.

United were level again 8 minutes later as Cavani netted his brace, but an Alex Telles own-goal with 7 minutes to play handed Roma the victory on the night.

The Red Devils though progressing through to their first final under Solskjaer.

Arsenal 0-0 Villareal (Villareal win 2-1 on aggregate)

The Gunners knew that their season hinged on their second leg game after the 2-1 loss in Spain and Aubameyang had the chance to give his side the lead with 26 minutes gone but he could only manage to hit the post with the goal gapping.

Both sides, however, struggled to create much in the first half with the away side comfortable with the 0-0 score heading into the break.

Arteta’s team showed more creativity in the second half and came close to getting the all important first goal, which would have seen them through on away goals, but Aubameyang missed his chance again as his close range header hit the post.

Arsenal threw everything they had at Unai Emery’s team in the closing stages, but they held firm to seal a spot in the final.

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Having lost in the final four of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Europa League in 2019-20, the Red Devils went on to fall at the same stage of this season’s Carabao Cup.

They are now hoping to make it fifth time lucky by overcoming Roma to reach May’s Europa League final, having been knocked out at this juncture by Sevilla in Cologne eight months ago.

Asked if there was more belief among the group this time around, United boss Solskjaer said: ‘Yeah, I would like to think so.

‘The players have had another year, they’re more experienced, they’ve come through some difficult times.

‘It was a strange end to last season with a tournament and even though we wanted to get to the final it was a strange atmosphere and feeling staying in Germany.

‘Now with the motivation of having those disappointments, I feel very confident that we’ll get a good performance.

‘That’s the thing. You come to a situation like this, the team’s in good form, it’s confident and you just then hope we can produce on the night.

‘That’s what it’s about, producing in 90 or 180 minutes, and have that quality and some luck at times to get to the final.’

Solskjaer says United have ‘done remarkably well to get to five semis’ over the last two seasons, but the former striker knows as well as anyone how important it is to go further.

The club have not won silverware since lifting the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017 and successor Solskjaer is looking to reach his first final in the Old Trafford hotseat.

‘It will be a dream come true the day I can lift a trophy for this club as a manager, of course,’ the 1999 treble hero said.

‘That’s what we’re building for. We’ve been close, we’re building step by step, but to take the next step it’s ifs and buts and this and that. You always talk about that.

‘But for this team and myself, our ambition this season is to finish with lifting a trophy and being able to celebrate. I know how much that can mean for a group moving forward.’

Thursday’s Europa League semi-final is United’s first home match at Old Trafford since the club embarrassingly backtracked on their decision to join the Super League.

United co-chairman Joel Glazer was named vice-chairman of the breakaway league and admitted ‘we got it wrong’ by attempting to leave the Champions League.

Asked if those underhand moves had devalued potential Europa League glory, Solskjaer said: ‘We have had a great night in this tournament before at the club.

‘We know how much it means for a team, for the whole club and of course our focus now is to get to the final and make sure that the end of the season can finish with a celebration.

‘As soon as we went out of the Champions League, our eyes and focus was “Let’s get to the final”.’

The semi-final fixtures against Roma come either side of the Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday, when fans will protest against the Glazers before kick-off.

Some showed anger at Old Trafford on Saturday and a group of fans got into the training ground last Thursday – the same day there was a minor incident at departing executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s house.

‘I’ve had a very good relationship with the owners and with the club,’ Solskjaer said when asked about the Glazers.

‘Of course, they’ve employed me as manager, they listen to my views and that’s my job: to give my opinion and do my best for the club and for them.

‘I’ve had so many years here at the club. I’m looking forward to trying to bring success to the team and that’s my focus.

‘You know, bringing the fans, players and the club together it’s very, very good.

‘We’ve had setbacks, disappointments here so many times but we always come together.

‘Mine and our focus now, the players, we just have to show up and go that one step further, get to a final and hopefully win.’

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