Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is Pep Guardiola's kryptonite.
The charismatic German has beaten Guardiola more than any other manager — a total of seven victories for Klopp dating back to meetings between the two in the Bundesliga.
This is a remarkable achievement, especially if one considers how dominating Guardiola's teams (be it Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City) normally are.
I am still scared of the second leg.
Liverpool ran rampant over Manchester City Wednesday at Anfield, bringing a 3-0 advantage into the second leg next week at the Etihad. No player could be said to have had a bad game. The team worked as a cohesive unit, like a Swiss watch. Manchester City did not even have a shot on target and looked nigh-helpless against the Reds.
But I am worried about the second leg.
Look at this silliness:
If you would’ve offered AS Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco a Camp Nou first leg in which Lionel Messi is limited to naught, Di Francesco probably would’ve broken your hand in agreement. And then you’d have to inform him that his side would still lose 4-1.
Roma still have an opportunity to shock the world at the Stadio Olimpico in the return leg thanks to Eden Dzeko’s conciliatory away goal, but the club from the Eternal City is more realistically doomed after conceding four goals to a superior opponent.
Mo Salah scored his 38th goal of the season for Liverpool, who took a 1-0 lead against Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals Wednesday after a counterattack and a Roberto Firmino assist.
Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic bicycle kick against Juventus yesterday was a flawless 75-minute performance from Real Madrid attacking midfielder Isco.
Watch the highlights again. You've already seen them, but watch them again, especially Ronaldo's second goal.
Who else could it be??
Cristiano Ronaldo puts Real Madrid ahead early in Turin! pic.twitter.com/sBKCDsRvM6— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 3, 2018
Bayern Munich took a massive step towards the Champions League semifinals with a 2-1 away first leg victory over Sevilla in the quarters. Pablo Sarabia opened the scoring for the hosts, but a Jesus Navas own goal and header from Thiago Alcantara put Bayern in the driver's seat ahead of the return leg in Munich.
The opening 35 minutes was close to perfection from Sevilla with regards to executing their game plan. Bayern controlled possession from the start, but the likes of Sergio Escudero, Joaquin Correa and Pablo Sarabia showcased the club’s devastating quality on the counter.
Some clever movement in the box from Real Madrid (and a basketball-style screen) left the Juventus defense befuddled and gave Real Madrid the lead three minutes into the Champions League quarterfinal first leg Tuesday.
Who else could it be??
Cristiano Ronaldo puts Real Madrid ahead early in Turin! pic.twitter.com/sBKCDsRvM6— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 3, 2018
Juventus play Real Madrid today, and if Gianluigi Buffon has anything to say about it the Italians will approach this game with an entirely different mindset than the last time these two teams met.
"I'd say we went into the Cardiff game over-confident and that was mistake number one. At the same time on the night Madrid were the better side and I hope for a better performance from Juve on this occasion," the 40-year-old told Diario AS.
Mario Mandzukic is reportedly in good health heading into the Champions League quarterfinal clash between Juventus and Real Madrid. That's good news for Juve, as it was a Mandzukic bicycle kick in last year's UCL final that was the lone bright spot for the Italian side.