Mbappe's masterpiece in the 94th minute, Firmino's goal with the back of his head and the salvation of Bayern in Austria: how the Champions League playoffs started

Cowardly Real Madrid football

The confrontation between PSG and Real Madrid turned out to be the most intriguing at the 1/8 final stage.

Fans expected bright football from two strong teams not without reason.

However, the first match did not meet expectations.

In many ways, the reason for this was the pragmatic game of Madrid.

They came to Paris in order not to give in in the first place.

This attitude had a negative impact on the actions in the attack.

Carlo Ancelotti's men had 43% ball possession and had the fewest shots in the main European Cup since the 2003/04 season - three.

Moreover, they never hit the target.

The defense of the guests also did not represent a monolith, and the Parisians periodically created dangerous moments.

But Thibaut Courtois acted above all praise, making nine saves.

It was not possible to break through it even from the penalty mark.

After an hour of the meeting, Kylian Mbappe earned a penalty for Daniel Carvajal's foul, but Lionel Messi did not convert it.

He shot into his right corner, and the Belgian figured out the opponent's plan.

By the way, the Argentine missed from the “point” in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes for the second time in less than a year.

In 2021, failure awaited him here while still in Barcelona.

After that, everything seemed to go to a goalless draw.

Real Madrid calmly controlled the match and was close to a peaceful outcome.

But in the 94th minute, the genius of Mbappe decided everything.

After the transfer of Neymar, who replaced Neymar with his heel, the attacker entered the penalty area from the left flank, threw a projectile between two opponents and shot under Courtois's supporting leg into the far corner.

So PSG still snatched the victory, and Kilian scored the seventh goal in the Champions League playoffs in the last three seasons. 

Perfect implementation of Liverpool

The bad example of Real Madrid was contagious.

On Wednesday, not a single accurate blow was dealt by Inter in the confrontation with Liverpool.

But the Merseysiders were noted for their unique implementation.

With only two shots on target, they scored twice.

The match itself was not boring.

In contrast to the meeting in Paris, neither side sought to act as the second number and rely on defense.

On the contrary, both teams played on a collision course and tried to look for free zones in the opponent's half.

Moments arose from time to time.

The most dangerous was created by Hakan Calhanoglu, in the first half, after a cross from the left flank, he hit the crossbar.

Not surprisingly, the fate of the match was eventually decided by the standards, which are the real weapon of Jurgen Klopp.

First, in the 75th minute, Roberto Firmino, who came on as a substitute, after filing a corner with his head, cut the ball under the far post.

And soon the free-kick ended with an accurate blow to someone else's goal Mohamed Salah.

For the Egyptian, this goal was the eighth in the current draw of the main European Cup, and in the race of scorers of the tournament, he is second only to Sebastien Aller (10) and Robert Lewandowski (9).

Liverpool showed their killer instinct and won a match they didn't deserve.

At the same time, the English team made the second successful trip to Milan this season.

In December, in the group stage of the Champions League, he beat AC Milan 2:1.

Nerazzurri fans can only hope not bad luck.

For a long ten years they have been waiting for a return to the playoffs of the main European Cup, but it seems that the path of their favorites there will turn out to be short-lived.

Sensational outcome from Salzburg

In the first matches of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, there was a place and sensations.

In the confrontation between Salzburg and Bayern, no one doubted the success of the Munich team.

Many football fans were waiting for the defeat.

However, the Austrian champion proved otherwise.

And in the duel of young German coaches, Matthias Jaisle and Julian Nagelsmann, there has not yet been a winner.

The main achievement of the hosts is that they managed to close Lewandowski.

One of the best strikers on the planet that evening was almost invisible.

He made only 31 touches (more than even goalkeeper Sven Ulreich), won one riding martial arts and could not break through on goal.

And the guests did not give 100% for a long time, apparently expecting that the difference in class would sooner or later affect.

And "Salzburg" in the middle of the first half during the counterattack opened the scoring.

In the debut, the main forward Noah Okafor was injured, and Chukvubuike Adamu, who replaced him, scored almost the first touch.

It is noteworthy that for the Austrian this goal was the debut in the Champions League.

After the break, Bayern began to play more actively and forced the opponent to snuggle up to the gate.

For a long time they could not break through the reliable Philip Köhn, who made eight saves.

However, in the 90th minute, he was also powerless, when Kingsley Coman, after serving from the flank at close range, sent the ball into the near corner.

“Salzburg” did not have enough to beat one of the main favorites of the tournament.

However, the team retained all chances of reaching the quarterfinals.

Convincing defeat from Manchester City

But in the match "Sporting" - "Manchester City" there were no surprises.

Lisbon were initially considered underdogs, and the main intrigue was how much they would miss.

The game showed that the difference between the rivals was too great.

The hosts did not create anything at the gates of others, and the favorite was careful about his own moments.

Much became clear already in the debut of the meeting, when Antonio Adan failed to fix the ball, and Riyad Mahrez finished him off.

The Spanish goalkeeper did not often rescue partners in the future.

For example, he soon missed Bernardo Silva's shot into the near corner.

It is noteworthy that the Portuguese, a graduate of Benfica, in a match with a once principal rival, was one of the most prominent players on the field.

He scored a double and gave an assist to Raheem Sterling.

And the referee canceled one more of his balls due to offside, depriving the athlete of a hat-trick.

The townspeople already upset the hosts four times by the break and became the authors of a unique achievement.

Previously, no one had led before them with a four-goal margin after the first half of the Champions League playoff away meeting.

In the second half, the guests expectedly slowed down and scored only once.

Sterling put an end to the confrontation with a beautiful twisted shot from outside the penalty area to the far nine.