Tuesday 14 May 2019

2019 Champions League/Europa League Semi Final Second Leg Reviews

After mixed results in the opening legs, it was two stunning second legs that set-up an all-English final in the Champions League.

Liverpool needed a miracle after a 3-0 loss in Barcelona and did just that with a superb 4-0 win to secure a trip to Madrid, winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Divock Origi fired the Reds 1-0 up (1-3 agg) inside seven minutes before two goals in as many minutes from half-time sub Georginio Wijnaldum made it 3-0 and levelled the tie at 3-3 on aggregate. Barcelona's miserable night at Anfield only got worse as quick thinking saw Origi slot in his second for 4-0 and complete the turnaround for a 4-3 aggregate win.

Wednesday night saw Tottenham Hotspur overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit to Ajax Amsterdam with a 3-2 win that ensured they advanced on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate. Ajax extended their overall lead with first half strikes from Matthijs De Ligt and Hakim Ziyech putting them 2-0 up and 3-0 ahead on aggregate. Tottenham fought back superbly as Lucas Moura struck twice in three minutes to level on the night at 2-2 (3-2 agg) before a last-gasp strike to complete his hat-trick stunned Ajax and sent Spurrs into the final on away goals.

For the first time ever, both European competitions will have a quarter of teams from the same country as the Europa League will also feature an all-English final.

Chelsea secured their spot in the final after a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt saw the sides level at 2-2 on aggregate and resulted in the Blues winning 4-3 on pens. Ruben Loftus-Cheek made it 1-0 (2-1 agg) to Chelsea on 28 minutes before Luka Jovic levelled four minutes after half-time. The tie went into extra time but had then to be settled in a shootout with Chelsea winning 4-3.

Arsenal set-up an all-English final against their city rivals after claiming a 4-2 win over Valencia which saw them advance 7-3 on aggregate. The La Liga side opened the scoring through Kevin Gameiro on 11 minutes for 2-3 on agg but a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leveller six minutes later made it 1-1 and 2-4 on agg. Alexandre Lacazette put the Gunners 2-1 upon the night as they led 2-5 on agg but Gameiro struck again ti cut the gap before the hour. Valencia's hopes were ended by two further efforts from Aubameyang who completed his hat-trick late on for 4-2 and a huge 7-3 aggregate victory. 

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