Manchester City FC will need another big home win against Liverpool FC to extend their UEFA Champions League season after the five-time European champions produced an exceptional display at Anfield.
• Goals in the first 31 minutes from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mané, and a determined defensive effort thereafter, yielded a 3-0 win for the home side on Merseyside on 4 April – although Liverpool will know the size of the task that still awaits them having already lost heavily at City this season in the Premier League.
• Although this is only City’s second European tie against a fellow English club, this is their second quarter-final in three years – and overall. Liverpool are in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008/09, but have plenty of experience against domestic rivals in international competition.
• This is the 17th time English clubs have been paired together in UEFA competition, and while City have been involved in just one of those previous ties, this is the tenth domestic affair for Liverpool in the European arena, including five of the nine UEFA Champions League knockout contests.
• Liverpool’s first-leg win was the first by an English club at home in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase since Leicester City FC’s 2-0 defeat of Sevilla FC in last season’s round of 16 – a run of seven matches including all five in this season’s last 16 (D2 L3). There have only been four wins by Premier League clubs in the last 18 knockout home matches over the past four seasons (D6 L8), City accounting for two of those.
Previous meetings
• While this is a first Liverpool-City game in Europe, the teams have met on 178 occasions in English football. Liverpool have won 87 of those games to City’s 45, with 46 draws.
• In this season’s Premier League, City were 5-0 winners in Manchester on 9 September. Sergio Agüero gave the home side a 24th-minute lead and, after the visitors had lost Mané to a red card following a challenge on City goalkeeper Ederson, further strikes either side of half-time from Gabriel Jesus and a late Leroy Sané double completed an ultimately comfortable win.
• Liverpool turned the tables on City at Anfield on 14 January, inflicting a first – and so far only – defeat of the Premier League season on Josep Guardiola’s side with a 4-3 victory in an epic encounter. Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the Reds an early lead and, though Sané levelled shortly before half-time, three goals in ten second-half minutes from Roberto Firmino, Mané and Salah put Liverpool 4-1 up. They needed that cushion after Bernardo Silva and İlkay Gündoğan struck in the final six minutes, holding on for a memorable win.
• This is the sides’ third two-legged knockout tie. Liverpool won both previous encounters, both in the English League Cup semi-finals: 2-1 on aggregate in 1980/81 and 3-2 in 2011/12. On both occasions the Merseyside club went on to win the trophy.
Match background
Manchester City
• This is only Manchester City’s second European Cup quarter-final:
2015/16 Paris Saint-Germain W 3-2 (2-2 a, 1-0 h)
• They have played only one previous tie against a fellow English club. In the 1970/71 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals City, as holders, lost 1-0 both away and home to Chelsea.
• City’s 13-match unbeaten home run in the UEFA Champions League (W10 D3), qualifying included, was ended by FC Basel 1893 in the round of 16, the Swiss side winning 2-1 to inflict a first home loss since a 2-1 Juventus reversal on matchday one in 2015/16. Guardiola’s side won the first leg 4-0 in Switzerland.
• This season City have beaten FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2-0), SSC Napoli (2-1) and Feyenoord (1-0) in Manchester. They had won seven of their previous eight home European matches, including four in a row before losing to Basel.
• Having won their first five games in this season’s competition, City lost 2-1 at Shakhtar on matchday six. They had previously won 4-0 at Feyenoord and 4-2 at Napoli and have won six of their eight matches in this season’s competition.
• City have won only two of the six UEFA competition ties in which they lost the away first leg – and have lost the last four such ties on aggregate, most recently against Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (0-1 away, 2-1 home – Sporting win on away goals).
• Indeed, the Citizens have not won a tie on aggregate after an away first-leg loss since beating Górnik Zabrze in the 1970/71 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals, and even then they needed a replay after each side won 2-0 at home; City were 3-1 victors in the third game.
• City’s record in penalty shoot-outs in UEFA competition is W2 L0:
4-2 v FC Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
4-3 v Aalborg BK, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16
Liverpool
• Liverpool have won nine of their previous 13 European Cup quarter-finals:
2008/09 Chelsea FC L 5-7 (1-3 h, 4-4 a)
2007/08 Arsenal FC W 5-3 (1-1 a, 4-2 h)
2006/07 PSV Eindhoven W 4-0 (3-0 a, 1-0 h)
2004/05 Juventus W 2-1 (2-1 h, 0-0 a)
2001/02 Bayer 04 Leverkusen L 3-4 (1-0 h, 2-4 a)
1984/85 FK Austria Wien W 5-2 (1-1 a, 4-1 h)
1983/84 SL Benfica W 5-1 (1-0 h, 4-1 a)
1982/83 Widzew Łódź L 3-4 (0-2 a, 3-2 h)
1981/82 PFC CSKA Sofia L 1-2 (1-0 h, 0-2 a)
1980/81 PFC CSKA Sofia W 6-1 (5-1 h, 1-0 a)
1977/78 SL Benfica W 6-2 (2-1 a, 4-1 h)
1976/77 AS Saint-Étienne W 3-2 (0-1 a, 3-1 h)
1964/65 1. FC Köln W 2-2, Liverpool won on coin toss (0-0 a, 0-0 h, 2-2 n)
• Liverpool have played eight previous two-legged knockout ties against fellow English sides, with the aggregate record W5 L3. Most recently they beat City’s local rivals Manchester United FC in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (2-0 home, 1-1 away), Firmino scoring in the first game at Anfield.
• The Reds have played six European Cup ties against domestic rivals, beginning against Nottingham Forest FC in the 1978/79 first round (0-2 away, 0-0 home).
• Their remaining five all-English ties have all come in the UEFA Champions League era:
2004/05 semi-finals: Chelsea FC W 1-0 (0-0 a, 1-0 h)
2006/07 semi-finals: Chelsea FC W 4-1pens (0-1 a, 1-0 h aet)
2007/08 quarter-finals: Arsenal FC W 5-3 (1-1 a, 4-2 h)
2007/08 semi-finals: Chelsea FC L 3-4 (1-1 h, 2-3 a aet)
2008/09 quarter-finals: Chelsea FC L 5-7 (1-3 h, 4-4 a)
• Liverpool also played out two goalless draws against Chelsea in the 2005/06 group stage.
• The Reds have therefore never won an away European game against an English club (D5 L4); their record against domestic rivals overall is W6 D8 L5.
• Liverpool were 7-0 winners at NK Maribor on matchday three, their club record European away victory. They also won 5-0 at FC Porto in the round of 16 first leg, going through by the same aggregate score.
• They have nevertheless won just four of their last 17 European away games (D8 L5), having drawn 1-1 at FC Spartak Moskva in their first Group E away match and let slip a 3-0 half-time lead to draw 3-3 at Sevilla FC in this season’s group stage. Before triumphing at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in their play-off first leg, the Merseysiders’ last away success had been a 1-0 UEFA Europa League group stage win at FC Rubin Kazan on 5 November 2015.
• Liverpool have triumphed in 29 UEFA competition ties when they have won the home first leg – most recently against City’s neighbours Manchester United FC in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (2-0 home, 1-1 away) – and lost only five. Four of those aggregate losses came after a one-goal margin in the home first leg; the exception was the 1964/65 European Cup semi-final against FC Internazionale Milano, when a 3-1 home win was overturned by a 3-0 reverse in Italy.
• The Reds have also won all four ties in which they triumphed 3-0 at home first time out, including the 1972/73 UEFA Cup final against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-0 home, 0-2 away).
• Liverpool’s record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L1:
4-5 v Beşiktaş JK, 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32
4-1 v Chelsea FC, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
3-2 v AC Milan, 2004/05 UEFA Champions League final
4-2 v AS Roma, 1983/84 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final
Coach and player links
• Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp crossed paths eight times between 2013 and 2015 as coaches of FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund respectively, Guardiola recording four wins to Klopp’s three. That included a 2-0 triumph in the 2014 German Cup final, while Dortmund came out on top in the German Super Cup in both 2013 and 2014. The drawn fixture came in the 2015 German Cup semi-final; Dortmund went through 2-0 on penalties.
• Since Klopp and Guardiola found themselves in opposition in England, Liverpool have won all three home games against City, with a draw and a home win in the clubs’ Manchester fixtures.
• Klopp’s Dortmund beat City 1-0 in Germany after a 1-1 away draw in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Gündoğan made 80 Bundesliga appearances under Klopp at Dortmund, scoring nine goals, between 2011 and the coach’s 2015 departure. The midfielder was part of the squad that won a league and cup double in 2011/12, and scored a penalty in Dortmund’s defeat by Bayern in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.
• Raheem Sterling scored 18 goals in 95 Premier League games for Liverpool between 2012 and 2015, when he signed for City.
• James Milner spent five seasons at City between 2010 and joining Liverpool in 2015, making 147 league appearances and scoring 13 goals. He was part of the title-winning sides in 2012 and 2014, and also claimed winners’ medals in the 2011 FA Cup and the English League Cup three years later.
• Kyle Walker, Sterling and John Stones were in the England team that beat a Netherlands side captained by Virgil van Dijk and also featuring Georginio Wijnaldum 1-0 in Amsterdam on 23 March.
• International team-mates:
Kyle Walker, John Stones, Fabian Delph, Raheem Sterling & Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nathaniel Clyne, Dominic Solanke, Joe Gomez (England)
Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne & Simon Mignolet (Belgium)
Ederson, Danilo, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus & Roberto Firmino (Brazil)
İlkay Gündoğan, Leroy Sané & Emre Can (Germany)
David Silva & Alberto Moreno (Spain)
• Have played together:
Fabian Delph & James Milner (Aston Villa FC, 2009–10)
Match facts
Manchester City
• Danilo, İlkay Gündoğan, Kevin De Bruyne, Nicolás Otamendi, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho will incur a suspension with their next yellow cards.
• The first leg was City’s heaviest defeat since a 4-0 Premier League loss at Liverpool’s neighbours Everton FC on 15 January 2017.
• City suffered their first home defeat of the season against Basel in the round of 16 second leg, and their first loss at the City of Manchester Stadium since a 3-1 reverse against Chelsea FC on 3 December 2016. Their home record between those two defeats was W29 L7; they have won 19 of their 22 home games this season in all competitions.*
• Guardiola’s side have scored three or more in 12 of those 22 home matches this season. However, they have managed only nine clean sheets, including only two in their last eight matches.
• City have won all but four of their 31 Premier League games this season. They have lost just one of their last 39 league fixtures, winning 33 and drawing five.*
• The first leg was only the third time City have failed to find the net in a match this season. Only Crystal Palace FC, in the Premier League on 31 December (0-0), and third tier Wigan Athletic FC in the last 16 of the FA Cup on 19 February (0-1) have also stopped them scoring.
• Sergio Agüero has 15 goals in 15 games in all competitions in 2018, and needs one more to become the first player to score 200 for City. His four-goal haul against Leicester City FC on 10 February was the third time he has managed four in a Premier League match; no other player can match that.*
• Raheem Sterling has 16 Premier League goals this season – seven more than his previous best total of nine, with Liverpool in 2013/14.*
• City claimed the first silverware of the English domestic season with a 3-0 victory against Arsenal in the League Cup final at Wembley on 25 February, thanks to goals from Agüero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva. It is the fifth time the Citizens have won the competition.
• Benjamin Mendy has not played since a cruciate knee injury on 23 September. Fabian Delph suffered a muscle injury on 5 March and has not featured since; Agüero has been out since 10 March with a knee problem picked up in training while John Stones missed the 3-1 win at Everton on 31 March with concussion.*
• De Bruyne was included in the UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year 2017. The Belgian handed over a cheque from for €100,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) before the second leg against Basel.
Liverpool
• Jordan Henderson serves a one-match suspension following his first-leg booking; Alberto Moreno is a yellow card away from a ban.
• Liverpool have failed to score in only two of their last 20 matches in all competitions. They have scored in their last five away matches, and have failed to score in only one of their last 18 on the road. Overall Klopp’s side have failed to find the net in just three of their 22 away matches in 2017/18, including the 5-0 loss at City in September.*
• Liverpool’s away record this season is W12 D5 L5.*
• The Reds have lost only one of their last 11 games in all competitions, winning eight.*
• Mohamed Salah has scored 17 goals in his last 15 appearances for Liverpool. The Egyptian has 29 Premier League goals in 31 appearances this season.*
• Nathaniel Clyne has not played for the first team this season due to a back injury – although he has been added to Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League squad.*
• Joe Gomez had to be replaced early in England’s 1-0 victory away to the Netherlands on 23 March with an ankle problem. Emre Can has been sidelined since 17 March with a back injury.*
*Subject to weekend updates
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