For Liverpool, it was a game too far. No 63 of a season in which they have contested every single one that has been open to them was supposed to bring the crowning glory, the moment to define Jürgen Klopp’s era.
It was not just that Manchester City had led by two goals with 90 minutes on the clock, a place in the Champions League final against Liverpool basically theirs – although that was plainly the greatest, deepest agony.
Manchester City were not the smooth operators they so often are but this slender victory may prove invaluable when the tie is decided in next week’s return at Wanda Metropolitano.
Ralf Rangnick was asked after Manchester United’s victory over Tottenham on Saturday whether he thought his team could win the Champions League.
For Liverpool, a 10th European Cup final appearance beckons and a shot at winning the tournament for the seventh time. It was a night when their class told, specifically the control and composure that has seen them sweep all before them since the turn of the year, raising the prospect of an unprecedented quadruple.
Jürgen Klopp claimed the tie was not over but his public exercise in maintaining Liverpool’s focus held little consolation for Benfica.
Carlo Ancelotti had said there was no need to go mad but no one was listening and why would they now? Suddenly dozens of men were sprinting down the touchline chasing Karim Benzema,
Sometimes the old ones are the best. By the end, the notion that Chelsea would blow Real Madrid away felt utterly preposterous. Sometimes there is nothing else to do but sit back and marvel at the majesty of Toni Kroos,
There had been plenty of criticism for Chelsea since that aborted attempt to move their FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough behind closed doors,
As Bayern’s red shapes rampaged around the Allianz Arena, running rings around their traumatised opponents, it was easy to forget that this was a fixture they had approached with a certain foreboding.
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