Karim Benzema believes Real Madrid need another special night at the Santiago Bernabeu to progress to the Champions League final following their 4-3 loss to Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola's side were 2-0 up inside 11 minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday as a thrilling semi-final first leg got off to a flying start.
Benzema's double – only his Panenka in the 82nd minute matching the degree of difficulty from a finish around body in the 33rd – ultimately helped Real Madrid limit the damage.
The 34-year-old called upon his club's fans to help them get to May's final in Paris.
"There are 90 minutes at the Bernabeu for the fans to make a difference again," Benzema told Movistar+. "We leave here with our heads held high to play a good game in the return leg. The fans leave proud.
"We have to keep our heads calm and see what we have to do to improve, a little of everything and especially at the beginning of games."
Benzema's brace against the Premier League leaders made him the fifth player in the Madrid's history to score over 40 goals in a single season, after Cristian Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.
City were dominant against a Madrid side who badly missed Casemiro at the base of midfield, however, with Toni Kroos' defensive vulnerability a key factor in three of City's goals.
As has been the case during the knockout stage this season, in a game certainly not short on drama, Carlo Ancelotti's side managed to simply find a way to stay alive with a result that defied logic.
"A defeat is never good, but we are excited about this Champions League and the important thing is we never give up," Benzema said. "Now we have to go to the Bernabeu and we need the fans like never before to do something magical, which is to win.
"We entered the game without confidence, and that's what happens with an opponent like Manchester City. In this game a little bit of everything was missing."
Phil Foden has warned Manchester City they must "take more chances" following their epic Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid.
The England international was on target during a thrilling showdown at the Etihad Stadium, in which Pep Guardiola's side established a narrow 4-3 advantage.
City travel to Madrid for next week's second leg knowing they will progress to a second successive final if they maintain that slight edge, having lost 1-0 to Chelsea in last year's showpiece.
The margin of victory could have been greater but for wasteful finishing. Indeed, the hosts registered 16 shots on goal, with only six hitting the target.
And Foden knows he and his team-mates must demonstrate more of a clinical edge on the big occasions.
"For the fans watching, it was obviously a great game of football," he told BT Sport.
"We are playing a side that have won the Champions League many times and if we give the ball away, they are going to punish us.
"It is something we need to work on in the second leg. The tie is still on.
"It was a great game; end to end. We started really well and could have killed them off. In these games, we need to take more chances."
Despite only holding a single-goal advantage, Guardiola was delighted with the performance of his side and is confident they can finish the job at Santiago Bernabeu.
"We played a fantastic game against an incredible team," the head coach added.
"All around the world and for Manchester City, we are so proud. But it is about reaching the final and sometimes, football happens.
"We go to Madrid to try to win the game. Both teams want to attack and have the quality to play.
"Congratulations to Carlo and his team as they are so good. At the same time, we saw ourselves that we can be there."
Dominic Thiem's wait for the first win of his comeback goes on after he lost to Benjamin Bonzi at the Estoril Open.
Thiem was competing in just his second tour-level event of 2022 after suffering a wrist tear last June, having lost to John Millman at the Serbia Open last week.
The 2020 US Open champion could not find a way through against Bonzi, who did not face a break point in prevailing 6-3 7-6 (11-9).
Bonzi will next face Sebastian Korda, the eighth seed a straight-sets winner over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe and sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas defeated Dusan Lajovic and Jordan Thompson respectively, but seventh seed Tommy Paul lost to veteran Richard Gasquet.
At the BMW Open in Munich, sixth seed Dan Evans lost in his first match for the fourth time in five tournaments.
The sixth seed was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Maxime Cressy, while there were wins for Hugo Gaston, Ilya Ivashka and Oscar Otte.
On April 26, 2016, Manchester City and Real Madrid played out a tepid 0-0 draw in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final at the Etihad Stadium.
Back at the same ground, in the same round of the same competition six years later, they produced a spectacle that had the contrast cranked up to the maximum.
It was the joint-highest scoring semi-final in the competition's history, and it was a story that twisted and turned from the first minute until the last.
But the opening chapter reached its conclusion with City holding a 4-3 advantage after an enthralling 90 minutes.
A start for the history books
City pressed Madrid high from the off and it was shortly after regaining possession in the final third that Kevin De Bruyne made a phenomenal dart into the box to head home Riyad Mahrez's pinpoint delivery.
There were just 95 seconds on the clock, making it the quickest goal in Champions League semi-final history. The previous mark was 2 minutes 44 seconds, which was set by Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich against Madrid in May 2018.
It did not stop there, though. De Bruyne picked out Gabriel Jesus, who, after a somewhat fortuitous first touch, guided a cool finish beyond Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0.
Madrid had never before conceded twice in the first 11 minutes of a Champions League match and it looked like they could be seriously up against it with Mahrez, Phil Foden and Oleksandr Zinchenko all going close.
Benzema brings it back
It has already been the best season of Karim Benzema's career and he showed just how important he has become to Madrid in his 600th appearance for the club – the most by a non-Spanish player.
He got in front of Zinchenko to steer home a brilliant volley from the edge of the box in the 33rd minute for his 40th goal of the season. The Frenchman now belongs to an exclusive club of just five players to hit that mark in a single campaign for Los Blancos, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.
No let-up
Madrid lost their best defender in David Alaba at half-time and the momentum they had built before the break quickly dissipated.
Los Blancos concede an average of five more shots per game when Alaba does not feature and City had already had four efforts on goal – two of which came when Mahrez hit the post and Foden saw his goal-bound follow-up blocked by Dani Carvajal – before restoring their two-goal cushion through Foden in the 53rd minute.
Makeshift right-back Fernandinho, who replaced the injured John Stones in the first half, set up Foden with an excellent cross but his defending belied his years of experience just two minutes later. Vinicius Junior got the better of his fellow Brazilian with a clever dummy by the halfway line, and no one could catch him before he tucked the ball into the bottom-right corner.
It was the first time two players aged 21 or younger had scored in the same Champions League semi-final match.
Don't look away
The drama was far from over, though. Bernardo Silva capitalised when referee Istvan Kovacs wisely played the advantage following Toni Kroos' challenge on Zinchenko by slamming the ball into the top-left corner in the 74th minute.
City consequently became the first English side to score four against Madrid in the Champions League since Liverpool in March 2009. It would have been five had Mahrez been able to add a finish to his coruscating run.
But Aymeric Laporte inexplicably handling a cross enabled Benzema to score his ninth goal of the knockout stages – a Panenka from the penalty spot moving him one adrift of Ronaldo's record (10) from Madrid's triumphant 2016-17 campaign. The Portugal captain (13) is also the only player to have scored more Champions League semi-final goals than Benzema's seven.
Madrid were unable to stop Pep Guardiola claiming a 12th win in his 20 meetings with them across his entire coaching career, though. The Catalan's record in the semi-final has been met with a lot of questions, but he has never been eliminated after winning a first leg at this stage.
He will hope to get the job done at the Santiago Bernabeu and get a chance at redemption after last season's final defeat to Chelsea.
Manchester City have the advantage in the Champions League semi-finals after edging out Real Madrid 4-3 in a thrilling first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's side made a stunning start, striking twice in the opening 11 minutes through Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.
The recently crowned LaLiga champions responded with Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior sandwiching Phil Foden's header.
The hosts hit back through Bernardo Silva's stellar strike, but Benzema's nonchalant late penalty cut the gap to a single goal ahead of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday.
City made a flying start and took the lead courtesy of the quickest goal scored in a Champions League semi-final.
Indeed, just 94 seconds were on the clock when De Bruyne – the hero against Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals – headed home from Riyad Mahrez's delicious cross.
De Bruyne turned provider as the hosts doubled their advantage nine minutes later; his cross ricocheting kindly for Jesus to tuck away.
Mahrez and Phil Foden squandered chances to widen the margin before Madrid pulled one back as Benzema brilliantly volleyed home from Ferland Mendy's centre.
City regained their two-goal buffer within eight minutes of the restart, Foden ghosting in to head home Fernandinho's cross.
Madrid responded almost immediately as Vinicius raced down the left flank from inside his own half, before slotting past Ederson.
City regained control in the 73rd minute. Referee Istvan Kovacs played a brilliant advantage after Oleksandr Zinchenko was felled by Toni Kroos, enabling Silva to fire past a perplexed Thibaut Courtois.
But Los Blancos had the final word courtesy of Benzema's Panenka-style penalty after Aymeric Laporte handled in the box.
Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and RP Singh are among those critical of all-rounder Krunal Pandya kissing former West Indian skipper Kieron Pollard during Sunday’s India Premier League (IPL) encounter between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants.
So far this season, Mumbai, the many-time champions, have failed to gain any traction, losing all eight of the games played so far. In Sunday’s loss, Pandya found himself at the centre of controversy after running to give Pollard a kiss on the head after dismissing the West Indian.
Despite it being generally known that the men are friends, Gavaskar believes the bowler went too far with his celebration and that his mockery could have provoked a negative reaction from the West Indian.
“I know he is not going to like it, No! No! However good friends you are, that has to happen once the game is over. He is lucky that Pollard didn’t do anything,” Gavaskar told Star Sports. Singh agreed, adding that the Lucknow player had gone too far.
“Nobody likes losing. When a player is not doing well, one should avoid such things. You don’t know what emotions he is going through. What if he (Pollard) had turned back and reacted. He was walking back disappointed at being unable to win matches and that reaction was definitely too much.”
Jimmy Butler was ruled out of Game 5 between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday due to a knee injury.
The Heat took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday, with Butler contributing 36 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
However, the six-time NBA All-Star joined Kyle Lowry (hamstring) in missing out as the series returned to FTX Arena.
Butler has impressed against the Hawks, becoming just the third player in franchise history – after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – to post 45 points, five rebounds and five assists in a playoff game in Game 2.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the fastest goal in Champions League semi-final history to give Manchester City a phenomenal start against Real Madrid.
Belgium international De Bruyne headed in a brilliant delivery from Riyad Mahrez after just 95 seconds of the first leg at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. It was also the fastest goal scored in the Champions League this season.
The City midfielder's effort beat the previous record set by Joshua Kimmich, who scored in the third minute of Bayern Munich's May 2018 meeting with Real Madrid.
Nine of De Bruyne's 12 Champions League goals (75%) have come in the knockout stages, which is the highest share among players to find the net at least 10 times in the competition.
Riyan Parag scored an unbeaten 56 and Kuldeep Sen took 4-20 as Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 29 runs despite Jos Buttler's struggles.
Buttler has been in immaculate form in the Indian Premier League, scoring successive centuries in the previous two matches, but he lasted just nine balls in Pune on Tuesday.
The England international's score of eight included one boundary before he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood (2-19) in the fifth over.
Sanju Samson struck an entertaining 27, including three sixes, to get the Royals back on track, though it was Parag who ultimately dragged them through.
Having anchored the back half of the Royals' innings, Parag let rip in the final over, plundering two sixes and a four to get his side to 144-8.
Faf du Plessis elected to go with Virat Kohli at the top of the order, but RCB's former captain went for nine in the second over.
Du Plessis tallied up 23 before he fell to Sen, who had Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck with the next delivery.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-17) joined the party, dismissing Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai and Shahbaz Ahmed, while Dinesh Karthik was run out.
Wanindu Hasaranga (18) offered some resistance for RCB, though their hopes of avoiding a second straight defeat ended when Sen wrapped up the tail as Rajasthan went top of the IPL on 12 points.
Parag takes up the mantle
With Buttler failing to ignite, Parag initially showed great composure before that explosive final over when he reached a 29-ball half-century. Harshal Patel, who took 1-33, was the unlucky bowler, with 18 runs coming from those last six balls.
More frustration for Kohli
It was another bad day at the office for Kohli, who has failed to reach double figures in five of his nine IPL innings in 2022. Indeed, it was a bad day all round for the Challengers, who could have gone top with a win, with only Du Plessis scoring above 20.
Referee Stuart Attwell was correct not to award Everton a penalty in Sunday's Merseyside derby at Anfield, according to former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg.
Relegation-threatened Everton wanted a spot-kick when Liverpool's Joel Matip challenged Anthony Gordon in the area early in the second half when the game was goalless.
The claims were waved away, though replays suggested there was contact between the pair.
After the match, Gordon told Sky Sports that Matip had stepped on his foot, while Frank Lampard suggested that had the incident occurred at the other end of the pitch, and an Everton player had challenged Mohamed Salah, a spot-kick would have been awarded.
Everton have reportedly contacted the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) over the incident, while it has been reported that the Football Association (FA) have asked Lampard to explain his comments.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports that it was a "stonewall penalty" but suggested that Gordon, who had been booked for simulation earlier in the match, had to be careful not to build a reputation of being a diver.
Though Clattenburg disagrees that it was a penalty, he did echo Carragher's sentiments.
"It's difficult because Gordon got cautioned early in the match," Clattenburg told Stats Perform. "I've watched him over the last months and he does go to ground a little bit too easy.
"And you don't prejudge things, you never prejudge things as a referee, however, it's in there as a doubt in your back of your mind that when a player goes down on the little contact, that you're probably not going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"So he probably didn't get the benefit of the doubt on the second one after being cautioned earlier and a match for simulation.
"If he had a chance to stay on his feet, I think he could have had the chance and he took the option to go down and the contact's minimal. For me, I think the best decision was play on."
There have been 12 bookings for simulation in the Premier League this season and half of these have been given to Everton players, with three of those coming across their two meetings with Liverpool.
The Reds, meanwhile, have gone 46 Premier League matches without conceding a penalty. That is 22 more than the next-longest active run (Manchester City - 24).
Asked about Lampard's comments, Clattenburg said: "I think that's a perception of football fans. From a refereeing point of view, we just want to get the right decision.
"With the support of VAR, the problem that they have sometimes is if the referee does give the penalty, the VAR wouldn't overturn it, because he doesn't give the penalty. He doesn't overturn it and people think well, why? Where's the right decision?
"There's no right decision or wrong decision as to what the referee gave at that time and he believed that Gordon had tried to win his team a penalty. Lampard's going to be upset - he's a coach, it was a really tight game at that point 0-0 at the time, so he's going to be upset because Everton could have won the Merseyside derby, fighting for their lives at the bottom."
Unai Emery says Villarreal must try and "surf the wave of experience" they have gained when they do battle with the "best-ever Liverpool" for a place in the Champions League final.
Villarreal dumped out Serie A giants Juventus and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on a surprise run to the last four.
The Yellow Submarine travel to Anfield for the first leg on Wednesday plotting to tear up yet another script.
Villarreal beat Manchester United in the Europa League final last season and it would be an incredible story if they won Europe's premier club competition in Seville next month.
Emery rates Premier League title contenders Liverpool, who are eyeing an unprecedented quadruple, as the favourites to lift the trophy and knows his side are no longer a surprise package
The Villarreal head coach said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday: "We face a bigger challenge than before. The surprise factor is no longer there. They are the number one favourites to win this competition.
"The team is a mirror of their coach, Jurgen Klopp, in terms of playing with joy, with enthusiasm. They are in the best moment.
"I remember my experiences against Liverpool [when he was Arsenal boss] at Anfield as challenging. I recognise the work done and the identity created by Klopp, which has since been further improved.
"I see that as an additional motivation for me, to try and beat the best-ever Liverpool. For that we will need to show our best version."
Emery says the LaLiga side must draw on the experience they have gained from their exploits in Europe.
He added: "We have been able to compete against big teams like Juve and Bayern, so they know it will be a tough game and will have to be 100 per cent and give it all at Anfield.
"Of course they will feel favourites as that is natural. It is an even higher difficulty than Juventus and Bayern Munich.
"We will try to surf the wave of experience we started accumulating last season."
Villarreal have not won in their previous eight matches in England, but their last victory came on Merseyside against Everton in August 2005.
Tottenham have announced that midfielder Oliver Skipp has undergone surgery on his groin and will play no further part in their Premier League top-four battle this season.
The 21-year-old featured regularly for Spurs prior to sustaining an injury in January that has kept him out of action ever since.
Skipp's form saw him tipped with a first senior England cap and rewarded with a new long-term deal by Tottenham last week that runs through until July 2027.
Antonio Conte recently revealed that the youngster was "very close" to returning to action, but his comeback has been delayed after it was decided he required an operation.
Spurs confirmed the news of their official website on Tuesday, adding that Skipp is expected to be back training for the pre-season period.
Skipp's most recent appearance for Tottenham came in the 2-0 loss to Chelsea on January 23, with that his 18th Premier League outing of the campaign.
Up to that point, only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Eric Dier, Harry Kane and Lucas Moura (all 19) had featured more regularly in the competition among Spurs' outfield players.
The England Under-21 international's 90 per cent pass accuracy is the highest of any Tottenham player to have played more than once in the top flight this campaign.
Conte's side are two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who they still have to face, with five league games left to play.
The Jamaica Men’s National Field Hockey Team secured automatic qualification to the 2023 Central American & Caribbean (CAC) Games by placing 1st at the recently concluded CAC qualifiers in Bermuda from April 14th – 17th.
Jamaica’s Richard Harris was voted Most Valuable Player with Brandon Clark getting an award for leading Goal Scorer in the tournament.
The Female team played extremely well but were unfortunate to end the tournament in 3rd position on four (4) points, with Bermuda and Puerto Rico, first and second respectively on seven (7) and five (5) points respectively. Jamaica’s Shakira Elliot copped the award for the leading goal scorer for the tournament.
The Women’s team still have the possibility of qualification, based on the fact that the Games have now been moved from El Salvador to Dominican Republic, whose women team have already qualified. This creates another qualifying position that would have been reserved for the host country. Therefore, according to Alberto "Coco" Budeisky the President of the Pan American Hockey Federation that qualifying spot will/should be awarded to the 3rd place (Jamaica) from the Bermuda Qualifiers.
“This was possible only through the tremendous partnership with the Jamaica Olympics Association (JOA) based on assistance with the delivery of our continued coaching development programs, provision of strategic guidance and the contribution of critical resources for tournament participation. Thanks to the stewardship of JOA’s President Christopher Samuda, and Managing Director, Ryan Foster and the entire JOA staff, Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF) will now be represented in the CAC Games in the Dominican Republic in June 2023,” said the JHF in a statement.
Raul Albiol says reaching the Champions League final with Villarreal "would become a milestone in the history of football" as they prepare to take on Liverpool in the last four.
The Spanish club have already defied the odds by eliminating heavyweights Juventus and Bayern Munich en route to setting up a two-legged showdown with Liverpool.
Villarreal are up against English opponents for the fourth time out of their past five major European semi-final appearances.
That includes a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Liverpool at this stage of the 2015-16 Europa League, and they enter this latest encounter as underdogs despite their impressive run.
While aware of the size of the task that awaits his side, Villarreal skipper Albiol is eager to write his name in club folklore by keeping their European adventure alive.
"It would be a dream to play the Champions League final with Villarreal, a humble and hardworking team that has struggled to remain among the elite," he told UEFA's website.
"A club coming from a town with 50,000 inhabitants making it to the Champions League final would become a milestone in the history of football.
"So, it would be something that not only Villarreal supporters would remember but many football lovers."
Albiol has won eight trophies at club level across an 18-year career, including the Europa League with Villarreal last season.
That ensured a place in this term's Champions League, and Villarreal have lost just two of their 10 matches thus far.
Reflecting on the past year, Albiol – a member of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad – said: "The Europa League's helped us have these experiences in the Champions League.
"They are not at the same level, but last year we started to be a competitive team in Europe and to know how to play in tough knockout rounds.
"I think that now, by eliminating Juve and Bayern, we have shown that the team has personality, knows how to suffer; we have come through in difficult moments.
"Winning the club's first European title was historic, but if we suffer defeat to Liverpool, it could be historic too.
"So, we have to do our best during these two matches to try to do it; we have to give everything to write another chapter in history.
"If Villarreal got into the Champions final, it would be something historic for a club, and a village, such as Villarreal."
Villarreal are winless in their past eight trips to England in European competition, most recently losing 2-1 to Manchester United in the group stage seventh months ago.
Belief is high in the Yellow Submarine's camp, however, having also won back-to-back domestic matches to climb up to seventh in LaLiga.
"It reflects that with effort, dedication and team spirit, you can achieve great things – and that money and great players are not the only way to win titles," Albiol said.
"In the end, we are a great group of players with a good level, who want to grow and improve, who work hard and spend many hours getting ready for every match with the staff.
"We are now at that point in which we can believe."
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