Real Madrid and Napoli Secure UCL Quarter-Final Spots

UCL Quarter-final Spots Filled as Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the game as Real Madrid claimed another win over Liverpool at the Santiago Bernabéu to seal a 6-2 aggregate victory. The Reds have now been ousted by Liverpool 4 times in the last 8 seasons, twice in the final and twice in the early knock-out phases.

Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool Match Report

For fans that were waiting for a possible “remontada” from Liverpool, the first half must have been so underwhelming. Although Liverpool had an early chance through Darwin Núñez, Thibaut Courtois was able to smother the Uruguayan’s attempt after Rüdiger had misjudged the flight of the ball to gift Liverpool the early chance. It was Real Madrid that came close more often in the first-half. A close run-in from Vinicius needed an Alison save to stay out. Eduardo Camavinga also crashed the crossbar with a superb attempt from a central position. A few half-chances for Darwin Nuñez was all The Reds could muster in the first half.

Real Madrid almost wrapped it up early in the second-half, with Benzema playing Valverde through, only for Alisson to smother the midfielder’s tame attempt. Valverde also had a good chance to score a header after superb work from Luca Modric down the left-hand side of attack. At this stage, Liverpool’s chances of qualifying were next to zero as Real Madrid kept on creating the better chances. Benzema put the nail in the coffin just before the 80th minute mark after Vinicius fluffed a good chance at goal.

The Reds will now focus all their energy on qualifying for next season’s UCL by fighting for a top 4 spot with Spurs, who were also eliminated from the Champions League last week in the Premier League

Osimhen Inspires Napoli to UCL Quarter-finals

Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scored twice to also help Napoli to a 3-0 win on the night and a 5-0 aggregate win over German side Eintracht Frankfurt. Luciano Spaletti’s men are the first Napoli side to qualify for the last eight of the UEFA Champions League in their history, and they did it with some style.