We've reached the business end of the Champions League as Europe's elite prepare for the quarter-finals. Desh Parthab takes a look at four key players who could make the difference for their teams this week.
All eyes will undoubtedly be on the Etihad where history is about to be made. The first-ever meeting between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in European competition is scheduled to go ahead and the pundits are about to run out of ink!
This will be the fourth instalment of Guardiola vs Simeone with none of the previous fixtures ending in a stalemate, with Pep leading the head-to-head 2-1.
Benfica booked their place in the quarters in dramatic fashion, edging Ajax 3-2 on aggregate. The Portuguese giants are unbeaten at home in their previous 5 but face a daunting task against Liverpool who will be looking to put their recent Champions League defeat behind them. Here’s a few players to look out for!
Salah’s scintillating UCL form a worry for Benfica
Mohamed Salah has found the back of the net in each of his previous 8 away European fixtures. The Merseyside talisman has been a consistent source of goals for Klopp’s men and is set to break into double digits in this season’s edition of the European competition. Salah (8) is only outscored by Sébastien Haller (11) and Robert Lewandowski (12) ahead of this round of fixtures.
Mohamed Salah in the Champions League for Liverpool:
— M.Salah11 (@fcsalah11) April 4, 2022
👕 51 games
⚽️ 33 goals
🅰️ 10 assists
✌️ 2 finals
🏆 1 title
🇪🇬👑pic.twitter.com/c0zGWb1YmY
Nunez must fire if Benfica are to upset Liverpool
The towering Darwin Núnez scored in the final 15 minutes of Benfica’s round of 16 bout to send them through to the next stage. Across his previous five appearances for Benfica, Núnez has registered four goals and an assist.
Half of those goals came from the penalty spot and he has already dispatched from the spot in the UCL this season which adds to his allure. Núnez (4) leads the UCL scoring charts for Benfica and could add to his tally when his side welcome Liverpool (who have lost on each of their previous three away trips to face Benfica in European competition).
Darwin Nunez - The Complete Striker pic.twitter.com/HG6njgk4Rx
— ⁴⁷ (@SalibaxSzn) March 29, 2022
Felix and Atletico aiming to sink another Manchester club
In his previous five appearances for Atletico Madrid, Joao Felix has delivered five goals and an assist (across all competitions). The attacking midfielder failed to score in the group stages, but did open his account with a stunning header in their first leg round of 16 fixture against Manchester United.
Simeone’s men overcame the Red Devils in the second leg and will now look to make history as the Colchoneros have never won on consecutive away trips to face English opposition in European Competition.
Joao Felix goal for Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United.
— ⚽⚽⚽ (@ElijahKyama) February 23, 2022
Harry Maguire!!! pic.twitter.com/jhvO2BcGLQ
Ederson’s finding European form at the right time
Following a dismal run in the group stages where he failed to register a clean sheet, Ederson has now registered back to back clean sheets, in the knockout stages.
The Manchester City shot-stopper earned his first clean sheet in this season’s Champions League when the Cityzens made the trip to Portugal against Sporting. He followed that up with another one last time out on home turf, but has had to make just two saves across both legs?!
He will have his work cut out for him as he comes up against Atletico Madrid who just eliminated their neighbours Manchester United, from the European competition in the Round of 16.
Ederson VS Sporting Lisbon pic.twitter.com/9oXSZfQywA
— RS7 (@zackkmcfc) February 15, 2022
Liverpool’s away record sounds ominous warning for Benfica
Liverpool suffered their first home defeat in 29 matches across all competitions (W21 D7) in their previous UCL outing. Furthermore, it was the first Champions League match that they’ve failed to win this season – emphasising that anything goes in knockout football.
Liverpool have been excellent on their travels of late and will look to extend their away winning run to an impressive eight games. The Merseyside club are explosive upfront, not only are they currently England’s top goal scorers, but they have scored the most away goals in the English top flight.
⭐ #UCL 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 ⭐
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 5, 2022
Quarter-final time as we take on @SLBenfica 👊#WalkOn | #SLBLIV pic.twitter.com/EMmmoDddJE
