UEFA Champions League: 5 talking points from the quarterfinals
AS Roma, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid!
So we are now down to the final four in the race towards the European glory.
As these teams prepare themselves to battle each other ahead of the draws, the footballing world witnessed what can be said as the toughest and most nerve-racking quarterfinals in the history of the tournament.
One shall fall short of adjectives to describe the drama that took place over the course of two weeks in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League.
While we saw Manchester City stumble at Etihad against Liverpool following the deficit of 3 first leg goals, we also saw the minnows, AS Roma, breezing past the Catalan giants despite having conceded 4 goals at Camp Nou.
Juventus got Real Madrid tensed until the end of 90 minutes but a dramatic end to the clash saw the current champions secure a berth in the semis.
On papers, Sevilla were not at all worthy to match the Bavarians but the Liga side left Bayern's fortress, Allianz Arena, with pride.
Wrapping up for the intro, let's discuss five key events that took place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
#1 Sevilla made Bayern break some sweat
Bayern Munich is famous for their home wins when it comes to the Champions League. Barring Real Madrid, no team has defeated them at the Allianz Arena in recent times. However, though Sevilla couldn't beat them, they surely made the Germans break some sweat.
After having drawn against Sevilla, pundits and fans saw it as an easy fixture for the Bundesliga team as they are on a hot run this season. However, although Bayern Munich qualified to the semis, Sevilla walked off the pitch with pride after having put up a stellar display against their opponents on their home turf.
Credit for the Bavarians' progression goes to their two away goals that they secured in the first leg.
Before the first clash, it seemed like a cakewalk for a team as big as Bayern Munich against a comparatively weaker team, Sevilla. But the opinion regarding the same changed post Sevilla's home-leg display against Bayern.
In the reverse fixture, the Andalusians enjoyed a majority of ball possession and had Bayern right under their command. Not to forget Joaquin Correa's header that was saved by the crossbar which shook the home fans.
In the end, it was Bayern, of course, who had the last laugh but Allianz lauded the efforts of the underdogs who indeed fought their way until this stage of the competition.