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Champions League Recap: Real Madrid run riot, Man City slump in Germany & more

Europa League fixtures are on the menu in European football today, but it’s time to take a quick look at a short retrospective of midweek Champions League action.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli

Runaway Serie A leaders Napoli strolled to a 2-0 first-leg win against ten-man Eintracht Frankfurt at the Deutsche Bank Park on Tuesday to put one foot in the quarter-finals.

 

Luciano Spalletti’s high-flyers wasted a glorious opportunity to open the scoring late in the first half as Kevin Trapp pulled off a stunning save to thwart Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s attempt from the spot.

Sought-after striker Victor Osimhen added to his ever-growing goals tally with a poaching finish on the stroke of half-time to give the Partenopei a well-deserved lead at the break.

The Nigerian gunslinger, who, according to Rio Ferdinand, would be an ideal signing for Manchester United (via the Manchester Evening News), laid the foundation for Napoli’s clear-cut victory.

Randal Kolo Muani’s reckless tackle on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, resulting in a straight red card, added insult to injury, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo doubling the visitors’ lead just moments later.

Napoli took their foot off the gas for the remainder of the game, but there’s a feeling they did enough to secure their maiden appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

Record-time Champions League winners Real Madrid took a massive stride towards reaching the competition’s last-eight for the third season running with a come-from-behind 5-2 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield.

After Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah struck home within the opening 14 minutes of play, everyone thought the Reds could be on the verge of avenging a 1-0 heartbreak in last season’s final.

Little did they know that Carlo Ancelotti’s European specialists would score five unanswered goals in 46 minutes to become the first-ever side to net five times in a Champions League game at Anfield.

Inspired by a vintage Karim Benzema performance and Vinicius Junior’s first-half brace, Los Blancos left under-pressure Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp fuming at a Spanish reporter in the aftermath (via The Sun).

Inter Milan 1-0 Porto

Arguably the least exciting Champions League game this midweek took place at the San Siro on Wednesday as Inter Milan eked out a narrow 1-0 win over reigning Primeira Liga holders Porto.

Following a back-and-forth first-half action where both sides failed to capitalise on a handful of decent scoring chances, visiting midfielder Otavio tipped the scales in the Italians’ favour.

The Portuguese midfielder received his marching orders midway through the second half after a clumsy challenge on Hakan Calhanoglu earned him a second yellow.

Inter were quick to take advantage of a numerical advantage through second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku, who stabbed home from point-blank at the second time of asking in the 86th minute.

But despite halting Porto’s outrageous 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W19, D3), the Nerazzurri’s bid to advance into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010/11 is only at the halfway point.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City

Manchester City wasted a 1-0 half-time lead in an uneventful 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig as Pep Guardiola refused to make a single substitution at the Red Bull Arena.

Without standout playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, back-to-back Premier League champions found goalscoring opportunities hard to come by but still opened the scoring on the cusp of the half-hour mark.

Leipzig midfielder Xaver Schlager gave the ball away in his opening third, with Ilkay Gundogan serving Riyad Mahrez on a silver platter to hand Guardiola’s side a slender half-time advantage.

However, Man City ran out of steam in the second half, with Marco Rose’s team taking control of proceedings and creating several decent chances before finally grabbing an equaliser through Josko Gvardiol in the 70th minute.

Marcel Halstenberg’s perfectly-executed cross caught Ederson in no man’s land, with the in-demand Croatian defender outjumping Ruben Dias to head home an easy finish.

Neither side produced anything meaningful for the rest of the match, leaving the tie open for the taking going into the return leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Read – Eight of the most memorable games between Man Utd and Barcelona

Read Also – Iconic Performances: Thierry Henry’s irresistible display at Inter

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