Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp admitted a weight has been lifted from Liverpool's shoulders after Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury-time winner secured a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa and ended a record run of defeats at Anfield on Saturday. The English champions had lost their previous six games at Anfield and fell behind again when Alisson Becker failed to keep out Ollie Watkins's first-half strike. Liverpool were then controversially denied an equaliser as a dubious VAR review ruled out Roberto Firmino's reply. But Mohamed Salah levelled before Alexander-Arnold responded in style to the criticism he has received of late. "It felt massive to win. A real relief," said Klopp after victory briefly took Liverpool up to fourth in the Premier League. "I can't remember the last time we did it easy but it's fine in our situation after losing six home games." Alexander-Arnold was dropped from England manager Gareth Southgate's squad last month and was at fault for Real Madrid's second goal as ... » Learn More about Liverpool strike late to end record Anfield losing streak

When Toni Kroos arrived for his first training session with Real Madrid in 2014, he went the wrong way. Walking out onto the pitch at the club's sprawling Valdebebas training ground, Kroos saw two circles of players kicking the ball between them and jogged over to the one on the left. In his mind, that circle had fewer players in it. It was logical to bolster the numbers. But generally, the left circle is for the club's Spanish players, the right for foreigners. Nobody minded, some thinking Kroos was looking to assert himself or perhaps just was not aware of the code. The truth was Kroos knew the code but in that moment it made no sense to him. For a club like Madrid, arguably the biggest in the world, where the fans are among the most demanding and the attention and pressure on players is almost certainly the most heated, Kroos has continued to stand out as a figure of cold, clear thinking. The esteem in which he is now held at the Santiago Bernabeu, or more recently the ... » Learn More about Ice cold Kroos keeps Real Madrid in the hunt for trophies again

Chelsea are into the Champions League semi-finals. SEVILLE: Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2014 despite a 1-0 defeat against Porto in Tuesday's quarter-final second leg in Seville. Thomas Tuchel's side will play Real Madrid or Liverpool for a place in the final after producing a masterclass in game management to win 2-1 on aggregate. Real travel to Anfield on Wednesday looking to protect a 3-1 lead from the first leg. They could do worse than copy Tuchel's tactics as Chelsea smothered Porto with an intelligent defensive approach until Mehdi Taremi's stunning bicycle kick in the last minute of stoppage-time. That sublime strike was out of character with the rest of Porto's display as they laboured to overturn the 2-0 first-leg deficit. Chelsea have lost only once in 18 matches since Tuchel replaced the sacked Frank Lampard in January and this was another feather in the German's cap. Tuchel had admitted this week was a make or ... » Learn More about Chelsea into Champions League semis for first time since 2014

LONDON: "Win everything," said Kevin De Bruyne when asked of his ambitions for Manchester City after signing a new four-year contract to reportedly become the Premier League's highest paid player last week. With less than two months of the season to play, City are still on course for a historic quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup. Just breaking through the barrier of the Champions League quarter-finals would be a landmark for Pep Guardiola as he tries to reach the last four for the first time in five years in Manchester on Wednesday. City travel to Borussia Dortmund holding a slender 2-1 lead and bearing plenty of scars from quarter-final ties over the past three years. "Different year, same stuff," was how a disappointed De Bruyne summed up a 3-1 defeat by Lyon in Lisbon last season. Defensive mistakes, missed chances and VAR controversy also combined to deny Guardiola's men as they bowed out to Liverpool and Tottenham in contrasting ... » Learn More about Data-driven De Bruyne key to breaking Man City’s Champions League complex