On Thursday, Real Madrid resisted a comeback by Liverpool and thrashed them out of the Champions League quarterfinals after a 1-0 second leg win at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
In the match, Liverpool never came close to managing its three-goal deficit from the first leg against the UCL 2022 champions. Following the first leg aggregate score of 5-2 at Anfield, a second-half goal from Karim Benzema clinched the game that was most expected coming into the reverse fixture.
After the match, striker Benzema said, “It was a difficult game after the first leg, but from the start we wanted to go forward. It was a good game for the fans, for everyone, and we’re in the quarterfinals.”
At the end of the opening 45 minutes, both teams had good chances. But Thibaut Courtois and Alisson showed brilliant skills but were stuck to the net.
Madrid looked more likely to score as the second half played out, with Federico Valverde heading just over the crossbar and Benzema missing a good chance before slotting into an open net from a Vinicius Junior assist to seal the tie for good.
Playing with two disciplined four-man defensive lines and only Vinicius and Benzema up front, Real looked to counter-attack using the pace of the Brazil international down the left. Vincius and Benzama combined inside the box after a couple of lucky bounces, and the Frenchman finished into an open net to put the last-16 tie to bed.
The inspired Vinicius almost scored in the 14th minute, but his point-blank volley was brilliantly saved by Alisson.
Eduardo Camavinga unleashed a thunderous strike from distance soon after the Vinicius chance, but it crashed off the crossbar and Luka Modric also fired a fierce shot inches over the bar.
The Croatian midfielder Luka Modric dominated the midfield, while Vinicius Junior contributed in attack once. And, so it ultimately proved relatively simple. Madrid ate early pressure, grabbed a goal of their own, and by the end could give some of their big names a breather with Barcelona to come in EL Clasico
on Sunday.