WATCH: Salah, Firmino End Man City's UCL Comeback Hopes vs. Liverpool
Liverpool made quite a statement in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and the Reds finished the job in the second.
Carrying a 3-0 aggregate lead into the second leg, Liverpool went into Manchester City and walked out with a 2-1 win, reaching the semifinals on a 5-1 aggregate triumph after an action-packed match at the Etihad. Liverpool withstood a barrage of chances in the first half, emerging with only a goal conceded to Gabriel Jesus in the second minute. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored in the second half to ease any fears and doubts and send Jurgen Klopp's side onto the final four.
For Man City, the loss was a third straight in all competitions and the latest in a sudden string of disappointments. It followed its first-leg loss to Liverpool by squandering a two-goal lead to Manchester United on Saturday, when it had the chance to clinch the Premier League title faster than any other team in history.
Man City appeared to turn the page quickly and got its comeback off to a dream start. Gabriel Jesus scored at the two-minute mark after Man City pounced on a poor Virgil Van Dijk pass out of the back. Raheem Sterling wound up feeding the Brazilian in the center of the box, where he finished to reduce Liverpool's aggregate lead to 3-1.
Man City continued to pressure in and around the Liverpool box. No sequence was more emblematic of that than what transpired in the 20th minute, with a series of crosses whizzing by Loris Karius's goal mouth and Liverpool reduced to desperation in just simply trying to clear the ball from the area.
The match continued to provide one-way traffic, with City looking for its second, and it nearly came through Kevin De Bruyne in the 27th minute, when he curled a low attempt on frame, only for Karius to go down to his left to smother it.
City threatened again at the half-hour mark, with Bernardo Silva appearing to have a clear look from in close, only for James Milner to slide over and block it, keeping Liverpool ahead by two on aggregate.
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Silva had another great chance from a little further out in the 39th minute, bending a strike around Karius's far post, and a minute later he struck the post on a wicked, curling blast from long range.
Moments later, City had yet another threatening chance, with Karius racing off his post and missing the ball. Leroy Sane tapped home from close range after a ricocheted ball was served forward, but with Karius so far up, only one defender was back, and Sane was ruled offside, negating the goal. Replays showed the ball came off Milner before falling to Sane, though, which should have nullified the offside call, but it stood regardless.
City's comeback attempt took a hit after the halftime whistle, when Pep Guardiola was sent to the stands by referee Antonio Mateu. The official, who handed out five yellow cards in the first half, too, was the subject of Guardiola's wrath following the disallowed goal as the teams went to the locker room, and he dismissed the manager as a result.
After absorbing Man City's best blows, Liverpool all but put the tie away through Salah. Sadio Mane did the heavy lifting on a counter after receiving a pass from Sane, taking three defenders and Ederson with him. The ball squirted its way to Salah, and he chipped a short-range attempt over Nicolas Otamendi into the empty net to make it 4-1 on aggregate. With the away goal, it means City needs four unanswered to go through.
Firmino upped that number to five in the 77th minute, forcing Otamendi into a turnover, dribbling forward on the left channel and tucking a low drive inside the far post to make it 2-1 on the day, 5-1 on aggregate.
Here were the lineups for both teams:
The Champions League semifinal draw takes place on Friday, when the final four will be paired together. There are no restrictions on which teams can face one another.
