Come Saturday night, it’s set to be an all-English battle to
decide the winner of the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League (UCL) season as Manchester
City and Chelsea, two of England’s largest clubs, eye the Champions League trophy,
a coveted prize pursued every year by clubs across Europe.
Despite drawbacks such as the pandemic-related issue of
spectator management in stadiums as well as acceleration of sudden discussions
revolving around a possible UEFA Super League in near future, the Champions
League saw a few cracking contests this year.
Also read: Roma-Man Utd’s 8-goal thriller, Zagreb’s comeback vs Spurs: Best of Europa 2021
Provided below are a few of our top picks from the UCL matches
this season:
1.
Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid: After a tough
first leg for both Chelsea and 2018 CL winners Real Madrid, which ended in a 1-1 draw, the second leg saw a dominating performance by the London club as it prevailed with a solid 2-0 win. After a Kai Havertz shot deflecting off the
top of the crossbar, Timo Werner made it 2-1 in aggregate. While Real Madrid got
several chances throughout the match, they were unable to convert any of
those into an equaliser.
Also read: From Lampard to Tuchel: Chelsea’s journey to Champions League finale
The proverbial hammering of the last nail
in the Real Madrid-coffin came through a dual play by Christian Pulisic and
Mason Mount, with the latter scoring from a sliding position and taking Chelsea
into the finals.
2.
Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund:
After a 2-1 win against Dortmund in Etihad, Premier League winners Manchester
City travelled to Borussia’s home turf of Signal Iduna Park for the second leg
of the quarter finals. With the aggregate at 2-1, City already had incentive on
their side to qualify to the semis and did not lose their way despite an early
score by Jude Bellingham for Dortmund in the 14th minute.
The equaliser for the Manchester side came
through a Riad Mahrez penalty after Dortmund midfielder Emre Can produced a handball.
In the 75th minute, finally, the door to the semis opened for City as
a Phil Foden shot beat Marwin Hitz and made its way to the nets.
Also read: David Alaba signs for Real Madrid after leaving Bayern Munich
3.
Bayern Munich 2-3 PSG: The all-important
first leg match in the Allianz Arena made all the difference between the two teams,
and saw significant firepower from both ends. Kylian Mbappe starred for PSG,
who soared above their German opponents in particular ease this time around,
compared to the 2019-20 Champions League finals.
Bayern stopped a goal short at the end of
the stipulated time, leading to a 2-3 score at the end of the game. Veteran Thomas
Mueller and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored a goal each.
Two goals from Kylian Mbappe and another
from Marquinhos, on the other hand, sealed the deal for the Paris side, who,
despite losing the next leg at home, trotted to the semi finals by scoring more
away goals in the first outing.
Also read: Pep Guardiola vs Thomas Tuchel: Tactical battle-royale in UCL final
4.
Juventus 3-2 Porto: An remarkably
fast-paced match between an Italian and a Portuguese side, attacks began fourth
minute onwards. The match stretched to 120 minutes, with a first leg score of 2-1
in favour of Porto being ultimately cancelled out deep into the second half, as
Juventus fought back vigorously.
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Frederico Chiesa scored for the Bianconeris
in the 49th and 63rd minutes of the match, whereas Sergio
Oliviera clapped back with a penalty in the 19th minute and a late 115th
minute freekick. Seemingly drawing to a conclusion by a 4-4 score, the game produced one more
spark, as Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot scored from a corner but without much consolation,
as Porto progressed to the quarter finals by way of scoring more away goals.