MUNICH, Germany-- Manchester City cruised into the Champions League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday secured a 4-1 aggregate win that moved them a step closer to an elusive first title in the competition. City forward Erling Haaland, who had missed a first-half penalty, made amends in the 57th minute, drilling in his 48th goal in all competitions this season to kill off the tie before Bayern levelled with a Joshua Kimmich penalty in the 83rd. It was City's 15th consecutive game without defeat across all competitions and Pep Guardiola's team, losing finalists in 2021, will next face holders Real Madrid in the last four. It was also the 10th time Guardiola had reached the semi-finals as a coach, a new record. "I am so happy to be three in a row semi-finals (with City)," Guardiola said. "I could not expect (Bayern) differently, you saw how good they are." "In this competition it is the details. In these two games in the right moments we were there," said Guardiola, who coached Bayern from 2013-16. "In the second half we adjusted some things and since minute one in the second half we felt were much, much more in control." Bayern always had a mountain to climb after losing 3-0 in the first leg, but got off to a strong start. Kingsley Coman was a constant source of danger on the wing, keeping City defenders busy, and the hosts' biggest chance came in the 17th minute when Leroy Sane latched on to a Jamal Musiala pass but dragged his shot wide with only keeper Ederson to beat. The Bavarians, knocked out of the German Cup two weeks ago following coach Thomas Tuchel's arrival, caught a break a minute later when defender Dayot Upamecano was initially sent off after receiving a straight red card for a last-man foul on Haaland. A VAR review, however, confirmed the striker was offside and the Bayern defender's dismissal was overturned. Upamecano, who had been heavily criticised for his mistake that led to City's second goal in the first leg, was less fortunate a little later when he was penalised for a handball. Haaland sent his penalty high over the bar, a rare miss for the Norwegian striker this season, but he did much better after the restart. After combining well with Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland shook off the embattled Upamecano, before beating keeper Yann Sommer, setting a new record having taken just 27 matches to reach 35 goals in Europe's premier club competition. City's goal was the first Bayern conceded at home in the entire competition this season and the hosts, who have only the Bundesliga title left to play for, got an equaliser when Kimmich converted a spot kick. "It is really annoying that we didn’t take the lead with all the chances that we had," Kimmich said. I would have liked to see how this match had gone if we had made it 1-0 in the first half." Their frustrating evening was completed when Tuchel was sent off after a second booking in the 86th minute.
LONDON-- Holders Real Madrid breezed past Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Champions League with Rodrygo's double securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to set up a likely mouth-watering clash with Manchester City. Chelsea's hopes of maintaining interest in a woeful season always looked slender after losing last week in the Bernabeu and Rodrygo put them out of their misery with two second-half goals to confirm Real's superiority with a 4-0 aggregate win. The hosts had their moments and had 19 goal attempts but once again they lacked any cutting edge as they lost a fourth match in succession in all competitions since the club's record scorer Frank Lampard returned as interim manager. N'Golo Kante spurned two chances to cut the deficit and Real's former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois made a crucial save just before halftime to frustrate his old club who have now managed only one goal in their last six games. Real, bidding for a record-extending 15th European crown, bided their time and Rodrygo opened the scoring in the 58th minute, before tapping in again in the 80th to spark a mass exodus of Chelsea fans who had seen enough. Despite spending around 600 million pounds ($745 million) on players since a Todd Boehly-led takeover, the London club have now lost four games in a row for the first time since 1993. For Real, they may be handing the La Liga title to arch-rivals Barcelona, but they remain the team to beat in Europe's elite competition and manager Carlo Ancelotti is now eyeing a third Champions League crown with them and fifth in all. Manchester City lead Bayern Munich 3-0 heading in to their quarter-final second leg on Wednesday. Chelsea's fans cranked up the volume more in hope than expectation from the kickoff and the hosts almost got the perfect start when Reece James, Chelsea's most dangerous player, crossed low and the ball broke kindly for Kante who held his head in his hands after bouncing a volley wide. Real looked capable of killing the tie whenever they moved forward and Rodrygo, who scored a vital goal against Chelsea at the same stage last year, smashed a shot against the post. Home keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga then beat away a Vinicius Junior effort before Real's master craftsman Luka Modric found himself through on the right but Arrizabalaga saved. A Chelsea goal before halftime would have energised the mood and it almost arrived in stoppage time when James fizzed a ball across the area and Marc Cucurella looked poised to score only for Courtois to smother his effort brilliantly. "The big Courtois save was very important. We didn't want them to go ahead," Ancelotti told reporters. "That could have been worrying. As the second half developed, we were stronger, we created space to open up quality transitions. "By the end, we had produced a very complete performance. We hit a good level." Shortly after halftime Kante's deflected effort went agonisingly wide and that proved Chelsea's last hope as Real switched gears and took control. Rodrygo skipped past Trevoh Chalobah's wild sliding lunge on the right and his cross eventually was played back to him by fellow Brazilian Vinicius Jr and he slotted home. With a safety cushion established, Real's fans wedged in the corner were already serenading their team by the time Real picked apart Chelsea's defence once again for Rodrygo to deliver the knockout blow into an empty net. It could have got ugly for Chelsea and Lampard who now faces a huge task injecting some life into a season that is fast becoming an embarrassment for the big spenders.
MEMPHIS --Rui Hachimura came off the bench to score a team-high 29 points, LeBron James and Anthony Davis both posted double-doubles and the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers scored a Game 1 road win over the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday. Hachimura erupted to shoot 11-of-14, including 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. All five of his made 3-point attempts came in the second half to spark Los Angeles to a 1-0 series lead. Hachimura was one of four Lakers to score at least 21 points, joined by Austin Reaves with 23, Davis with 22 and James with 21. Davis also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, seven blocked shots and three steals. James secured 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and made two steals. D'Angelo Russell chipped in another 19 points and seven assists in the win. Los Angeles used two big runs in the fourth quarter to take command, the latter a game-ending 15-0 outburst after Memphis All-Star Ja Morant went to the locker room with a hand injury. The Lakers pulled ahead previously with a 10-0 run, a stretch that lasted 3:10 and proved significant for more than just Los Angeles' spurt. Amid the run, Morant attacked the rim but Anthony Davis stepped just in front of the charge circle to draw an offensive foul. Morant came down awkwardly and had to leave for the locker room in a scene not unlike Davis' own exit from the Lakers lineup just before halftime. While Davis returned after intermission from the apparent arm injury, Memphis played the final 5:48 without Morant, who finished with 18 points. The Grizzlies initially responded with an 11-5 run after Morant's exit that cut a seven-point deficit down to one, 113-112. Jaren Jackson Jr. capped the modest Memphis run with a 3-pointer, the last of his game-high 31 points -- and the last points the Grizzlies scored all game. Memphis closed on a 3:11 drought, during which Los Angeles got seven straight points from Reaves. Before his own mini-run, Reaves also set up Hachimura for the last of Hachimura's 3-pointers with a behind-the-back pass for an assist.
Liverpool's Diogo Jota scores their fifth goal against Leeds United during their Premier League match at Elland Road in Leeds. LEEDS, England-- Liverpool banished their away day blues as Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah grabbed two goals each in an emphatic 6-1 victory at lowly Leeds United on Monday, a record home Premier League loss at Elland Road for the Yorkshire club. Jota was on the scoresheet for the first time in over a year while Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez were also on target as Liverpool recorded a second away win in 2023. They move to 47 points from 30 games, nine behind Newcastle United in the fourth Champions League qualification position. Leeds had chances in the first half but just as in their5-1 home loss to Crystal Palace in their previous match, they were far too open defensively. Javi Gracia's side remain two points above the relegation zone after 31 games. Leeds winger Luis Sinisterra made it 2-1 soon after the interval before Liverpool netted four more. "It was a special second half, we played really well," Jota told Sky Sports. "We kept possession and tried to find ourselves in good positions. We scored some great goals. "It has been a hard season for me and the team so it is a relief for me to score. I always want to be involved, I got an assist too in the first half, but I would like to score more." Salah now has nine goals in six league matches against Leeds, a joint Liverpool record with Gordon Hodgson, and has moved to 26 for the season in all competitions after two clinical finishes, with his first being set up by Jota. There was some controversy over Liverpool’s first goal from Gakpo in the 35th minute as Leeds claimed a handball from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the build-up but as the fullback was not the scorer the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene. Liverpool Swagger It is a first win in six games in all competitions for Liverpool, whose Champions League qualification hopes look a long-shot, but there was some swagger back in the performance that has been missing away from Anfield this season. Liverpool’s fourth away win of the season came as they led 2-0 at halftime. They battled to create chances in the opening half-hour but once Gakpo put them in front they began to cut Leeds open at will. Salah fed Alexander-Arnold down the right and although the ball struck the wing-back's arm, he was allowed to continue and provided a tap-in for Gakpo at the back post. Jota robbed Weston McKennie and led a counter-attack that saw Salah score the second before a mistake from Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate allowed Sinisterra to pull a goal back for the home side early in the second period. Leeds might have hoped that would be a turning point but they could not contain the visitors in the second half. Jota restored Liverpool's two-goal advantage when he ran on to a superb pass from Curtis Jones and swept the ball past goalkeeper Illan Meslier, later adding a second with a scuffed shot from the edge of the box. Salah and Nunez also scored to compound the misery at a rapidly emptying Elland Road. "Obviously we knew it would be a tough game. We started with a clear plan and tried to get them on the counter," Leeds defender Robin Koch said. "Then we conceded two goals and it's an extremely difficult game against a team like Liverpool. "It's hard for us but we need to put this game aside. We have three massive games coming up (against Fulham, Leicester City and Bournemouth)." Liverpool's Diogo Jota scores their fifth goal against Leeds United during their Premier League match at Elland Road in Leeds. Joy for Diogo Jota as Liverpool thump Leeds 6-1 at Elland Road LEEDS, England-- Liverpool banished their away day blues as Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah grabbed two goals each in an emphatic 6-1 victory at lowly Leeds United on Monday, a record home Premier League loss at Elland Road for the Yorkshire club. Jota was on the scoresheet for the first time in over a year while Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez were also on target as Liverpool recorded a second away win in 2023. They move to 47 points from 30 games, nine behind Newcastle United in the fourth Champions League qualification position. Leeds had chances in the first half but just as in their5-1 home loss to Crystal Palace in their previous match, they were far too open defensively. Javi Gracia's side remain two points above the relegation zone after 31 games. Leeds winger Luis Sinisterra made it 2-1 soon after the interval before Liverpool netted four more. "It was a special second half, we played really well," Jota told Sky Sports. "We kept possession and tried to find ourselves in good positions. We scored some great goals. "It has been a hard season for me and the team so it is a relief for me to score. I always want to be involved, I got an assist too in the first half, but I would like to score more." Salah now has nine goals in six league matches against Leeds, a joint Liverpool record with Gordon Hodgson, and has moved to 26 for the season in all competitions after two clinical finishes, with his first being set up by Jota. There was some controversy over Liverpool’s first goal from Gakpo in the 35th minute as Leeds claimed a handball from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the build-up but as the fullback was not the scorer the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene. Liverpool Swagger It is a first win in six games in all competitions for Liverpool, whose Champions League qualification hopes look a long-shot, but there was some swagger back in the performance that has been missing away from Anfield this season. Liverpool’s fourth away win of the season came as they led 2-0 at halftime. They battled to create chances in the opening half-hour but once Gakpo put them in front they began to cut Leeds open at will. Salah fed Alexander-Arnold down the right and although the ball struck the wing-back's arm, he was allowed to continue and provided a tap-in for Gakpo at the back post. Jota robbed Weston McKennie and led a counter-attack that saw Salah score the second before a mistake from Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate allowed Sinisterra to pull a goal back for the home side early in the second period. Leeds might have hoped that would be a turning point but they could not contain the visitors in the second half. Jota restored Liverpool's two-goal advantage when he ran on to a superb pass from Curtis Jones and swept the ball past goalkeeper Illan Meslier, later adding a second with a scuffed shot from the edge of the box. Salah and Nunez also scored to compound the misery at a rapidly emptying Elland Road. "Obviously we knew it would be a tough game. We started with a clear plan and tried to get them on the counter," Leeds defender Robin Koch said. "Then we conceded two goals and it's an extremely difficult game against a team like Liverpool. "It's hard for us but we need to put this game aside. We have three massive games coming up (against Fulham, Leicester City and Bournemouth)."
ROTTERDAM--Mats Wieffer scored the winner to earn hosts Feyenoord Rotterdam a 1-0 home victory over AS Roma in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, after he had given away a first-half penalty. Wieffer struck a bouncing half volley from outside the box in the 53rd minute to give the Dutch league leaders a narrow advantage to take into the return leg in the Italian capital.
