Manchester City and Inter Milan are the final two teams to secure their spots in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. City advanced thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win against Bayern Munich, while Inter punched their ticket with a combined 5-3 score in two games against Benfica.

City will now play against the reigning UCL champions Real Madrid in the semis, while Inter faces their cross-town rivals AC Milan. The semifinals phase of the competition is scheduled to start in early May.

Both Man City and Inter entered the second leg of the quarter-finals with healthy leads from the first matches and focused on keeping their opponents at bay.

Bayern needed a miracle to negate City’s 3-0 league from the first match but never got close, even with their home fans giving them some extra motivation. After the first half went scoreless, it was City that got the first goal via Erling Haaland in the 57th minute. The Bundesliga champs managed to tie the game when Joshua Kimmich converted a penalty late in the game, but the goal didn’t make much difference at that point.

On the other hand, Inter and Benfica delivered a goal fest for fans in their Wednesday night’s game. Inter opened the scoring through Nicolo Barella in the 14th minute before Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes made it 1-1 before the end of the half.

Inter went on to build a two-goal lead midway through the second half, with Lautaro Martínez and Joaquin Correa each finding the net to put an end to Benfica’s hopes. The Portuguese club did respond with two goals of their own, but they came at a point where Inter was already thinking about the next stage.

The post Man City and Inter Secure Spots in UCL Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After Liverpool defeated FC Barcelona to complete a stunning comeback and advance to the Champions League Final, few could’ve ever predicted that Wednesday’s Ajax-Tottenham matchup could live up to the drama of that game.

They had no idea what was in store.

After winning the first leg in London by a 0-1 final, Ajax hosted Tottenham in the second leg of the semi-final with a big advantage.

When Ajax scored the first two goals of the game to go up 2-0 in the 35th minute, everything looked settled. The Dutch team would be moving on to face Liverpool in the final after Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech stretched their aggregate lead to 3-0.

After the half, however, everything changed.

Unheralded striker Lucas Moura, an injured Harry Kane’s replacement, wasn’t going to allow his team to go home without a fight. He knocked in Spurs’ first goal in the 55th minute after a brilliant counter-attack.

Things got even more interesting in the 59th minute, only four minutes later, the Brazilian striker scored another goal after Ajax failed to clear an Andre Onana save.

The score was 2-2, and another Tottenham goal would qualify them for the Final.

Ajax held strong for the next 35 minutes, keeping Tottenham out of the net.

With the last chance of the game, in the 5th minute of stoppage time, the unbelievable happened.

Moura scored his third goal of the night in the final minute of stoppage time after a Dele Alli assist, and pandemonium took hold.

Spurs won the match 2-3 and the draw on away goals. They head to Madrid to face Liverpool in the UCL final for the first time in the club’s history on June 1st.

The post Tottenham Stuns Ajax to Reach Champions League Final appeared first on SportzBonanza.

What happened on Tuesday night at Anfield will go down as one of the most memorable nights in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The favorite to win the competition bowed out after a shocking comeback that very few could’ve seen coming.

After losing 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their semi-final matchup against FC Barcelona, Liverpool completed a stunning come-from-behind triumph by winning 4-0. This result sealed their invitation to the final of the 2019 edition of the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona was the heavy favorite to advance going into the match, and only had to avoid losing by 4 in order to go on to the final. They were unable to fulfill their task, however, and Jurgen Klopp’s Reds memorably took advantage.

Barcelona was sluggish and overly cautious all night, and Liverpool came out strong and without any fear.

The Reds came out early and put Barcelona on notice with a 7th minute goal by Divock Origi, starting in place of an injured Mo Salah. Liverpool was without two of its biggest stars in Salah and Roberto Firmino.

Barcelona tightened things up until a disastrous second half, when Liverpool scored the three goals they needed to advance.

Georginio Wijnaldum, an unheralded Dutch attacker for Liverpool, miraculously scored two goals in two minutes to even up the draw at 3 apiece.

He scored in the 54th and 56th minutes, shocking Barça.

The real heartbreaker for Barcelona, however, came in the 79th minute.

After conceding a corner kick, Barcelona’s defense was arranging itself and keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was clapping and rallying his time when Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold took advantage of the unfocused defense and delivered a pass to a wide-open Divock Origi.

Origi buried the shot past Ter Stegen, sending Anfield into complete pandemonium.

Liverpool had completed the comeback and held on to win 4-0 and advance to the final in Madrid in three weeks.

The post Liverpool Shocks Barcelona with Stunning Champions League Comeback appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The worst possible news came to Liverpool at just the wrong time on Monday afternoon.

Two key members of the Reds’ attack, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, have both been ruled out of Liverpool’s crucial Champions League semi-finals match against FC Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Already facing a 3-0 deficit after being dominated at Camp Nou last week, Jurgen Klopp’s side now must come back without two players that have combined to score 42 goals this season.

Firmino will miss the match after sustaining a “muscular injury” in practice last week after Liverpool’s match against Barcelona. The Brazilian striker wasn’t cleared to play on Tuesday night, and he might not even be back in time for Liverpool’s Premier League match this weekend.

Salah’s injury is even more devastating for Liverpool. The Reds’ biggest star and the author of 26 total goals this season suffered a concussion in an aerial collision against Newcastle United on Saturday. Despite wanting to play, doctors did not clear him due to a serious head injury.

If Liverpool is able to overcome these players’ crucial injuries and advance past Barcelona, it would truly be an accomplishment to go down in the history books.

The post Firmino, Salah to Miss Liverpool-Barcelona Clash with Injuries appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Ajax’s magical run in the Champions League continued with a 0-1 road win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final matchup against the Premier League side.

Tottenham, playing without striker Harry Kane, was unable to find the net in the first of two Champions League matchups against Ajax. The Dutch giants now hold an important advantage in the matchup that will shift to Amsterdam next Tuesday night.

22-year-old midfielder Donny van de Beek scored the only goal of the night in the 15th minute of Tuesday’s match. Hakim Ziyech found van de Beek with a beautiful pass into the penalty area, and he buried the shot past Hugo Lloris.

The English side desperately pushed for a goal for the rest of the match at their home ground, but their attack was unable to find much open space in Ajax’s defense.

It just wasn’t Tottenham’s night, and now Spurs will have to travel to Amsterdam and win if they are to advance to the Champions League final on June 1st in Madrid.

Ajax will host Tottenham next Wednesday night at 9:00 Central European Time at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

The post Ajax Beats Tottenham 0-1 to Take CL Semi-Finals Advantage appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Manchester City and Inter Milan are the final two teams to secure their spots in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. City advanced thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win against Bayern Munich, while Inter punched their ticket with a combined 5-3 score in two games against Benfica.

City will now play against the reigning UCL champions Real Madrid in the semis, while Inter faces their cross-town rivals AC Milan. The semifinals phase of the competition is scheduled to start in early May.

Both Man City and Inter entered the second leg of the quarter-finals with healthy leads from the first matches and focused on keeping their opponents at bay.

Bayern needed a miracle to negate City’s 3-0 league from the first match but never got close, even with their home fans giving them some extra motivation. After the first half went scoreless, it was City that got the first goal via Erling Haaland in the 57th minute. The Bundesliga champs managed to tie the game when Joshua Kimmich converted a penalty late in the game, but the goal didn’t make much difference at that point.

On the other hand, Inter and Benfica delivered a goal fest for fans in their Wednesday night’s game. Inter opened the scoring through Nicolo Barella in the 14th minute before Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes made it 1-1 before the end of the half.

Inter went on to build a two-goal lead midway through the second half, with Lautaro Martínez and Joaquin Correa each finding the net to put an end to Benfica’s hopes. The Portuguese club did respond with two goals of their own, but they came at a point where Inter was already thinking about the next stage.

The post Man City and Inter Secure Spots in UCL Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After Liverpool defeated FC Barcelona to complete a stunning comeback and advance to the Champions League Final, few could’ve ever predicted that Wednesday’s Ajax-Tottenham matchup could live up to the drama of that game.

They had no idea what was in store.

After winning the first leg in London by a 0-1 final, Ajax hosted Tottenham in the second leg of the semi-final with a big advantage.

When Ajax scored the first two goals of the game to go up 2-0 in the 35th minute, everything looked settled. The Dutch team would be moving on to face Liverpool in the final after Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech stretched their aggregate lead to 3-0.

After the half, however, everything changed.

Unheralded striker Lucas Moura, an injured Harry Kane’s replacement, wasn’t going to allow his team to go home without a fight. He knocked in Spurs’ first goal in the 55th minute after a brilliant counter-attack.

Things got even more interesting in the 59th minute, only four minutes later, the Brazilian striker scored another goal after Ajax failed to clear an Andre Onana save.

The score was 2-2, and another Tottenham goal would qualify them for the Final.

Ajax held strong for the next 35 minutes, keeping Tottenham out of the net.

With the last chance of the game, in the 5th minute of stoppage time, the unbelievable happened.

Moura scored his third goal of the night in the final minute of stoppage time after a Dele Alli assist, and pandemonium took hold.

Spurs won the match 2-3 and the draw on away goals. They head to Madrid to face Liverpool in the UCL final for the first time in the club’s history on June 1st.

The post Tottenham Stuns Ajax to Reach Champions League Final appeared first on SportzBonanza.

What happened on Tuesday night at Anfield will go down as one of the most memorable nights in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The favorite to win the competition bowed out after a shocking comeback that very few could’ve seen coming.

After losing 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their semi-final matchup against FC Barcelona, Liverpool completed a stunning come-from-behind triumph by winning 4-0. This result sealed their invitation to the final of the 2019 edition of the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona was the heavy favorite to advance going into the match, and only had to avoid losing by 4 in order to go on to the final. They were unable to fulfill their task, however, and Jurgen Klopp’s Reds memorably took advantage.

Barcelona was sluggish and overly cautious all night, and Liverpool came out strong and without any fear.

The Reds came out early and put Barcelona on notice with a 7th minute goal by Divock Origi, starting in place of an injured Mo Salah. Liverpool was without two of its biggest stars in Salah and Roberto Firmino.

Barcelona tightened things up until a disastrous second half, when Liverpool scored the three goals they needed to advance.

Georginio Wijnaldum, an unheralded Dutch attacker for Liverpool, miraculously scored two goals in two minutes to even up the draw at 3 apiece.

He scored in the 54th and 56th minutes, shocking Barça.

The real heartbreaker for Barcelona, however, came in the 79th minute.

After conceding a corner kick, Barcelona’s defense was arranging itself and keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was clapping and rallying his time when Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold took advantage of the unfocused defense and delivered a pass to a wide-open Divock Origi.

Origi buried the shot past Ter Stegen, sending Anfield into complete pandemonium.

Liverpool had completed the comeback and held on to win 4-0 and advance to the final in Madrid in three weeks.

The post Liverpool Shocks Barcelona with Stunning Champions League Comeback appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The worst possible news came to Liverpool at just the wrong time on Monday afternoon.

Two key members of the Reds’ attack, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, have both been ruled out of Liverpool’s crucial Champions League semi-finals match against FC Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Already facing a 3-0 deficit after being dominated at Camp Nou last week, Jurgen Klopp’s side now must come back without two players that have combined to score 42 goals this season.

Firmino will miss the match after sustaining a “muscular injury” in practice last week after Liverpool’s match against Barcelona. The Brazilian striker wasn’t cleared to play on Tuesday night, and he might not even be back in time for Liverpool’s Premier League match this weekend.

Salah’s injury is even more devastating for Liverpool. The Reds’ biggest star and the author of 26 total goals this season suffered a concussion in an aerial collision against Newcastle United on Saturday. Despite wanting to play, doctors did not clear him due to a serious head injury.

If Liverpool is able to overcome these players’ crucial injuries and advance past Barcelona, it would truly be an accomplishment to go down in the history books.

The post Firmino, Salah to Miss Liverpool-Barcelona Clash with Injuries appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Ajax’s magical run in the Champions League continued with a 0-1 road win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final matchup against the Premier League side.

Tottenham, playing without striker Harry Kane, was unable to find the net in the first of two Champions League matchups against Ajax. The Dutch giants now hold an important advantage in the matchup that will shift to Amsterdam next Tuesday night.

22-year-old midfielder Donny van de Beek scored the only goal of the night in the 15th minute of Tuesday’s match. Hakim Ziyech found van de Beek with a beautiful pass into the penalty area, and he buried the shot past Hugo Lloris.

The English side desperately pushed for a goal for the rest of the match at their home ground, but their attack was unable to find much open space in Ajax’s defense.

It just wasn’t Tottenham’s night, and now Spurs will have to travel to Amsterdam and win if they are to advance to the Champions League final on June 1st in Madrid.

Ajax will host Tottenham next Wednesday night at 9:00 Central European Time at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

The post Ajax Beats Tottenham 0-1 to Take CL Semi-Finals Advantage appeared first on SportzBonanza.