Man City and Liverpool through to Champions League semis

Manchester City produced a disciplined performance to secure a fractious 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate.

Tensions boiled over in the closing stages and Atletico defender Felipe was sent off after receiving a second yellow card before the teams played out 12 minutes of added time.

The English champions dominated the first half and Ilkay Gundogan struck the post with their best chance after a flowing move down the right.

Atletico enjoyed more possession after the interval and threatened to score the goal that would have taken the game into extra time but were unable to break down the visitors’ defence.

City, bidding to win European club football’s most prestigious trophy for the first time, will play record 13-times champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Firmino fires Liverpool into semis despite Benfica rally
Liverpool set up a Champions League semi-final with Spain’s Villarreal after Roberto Firmino scored twice in a 3-3 second leg draw with Benfica on Wednesday to ensure a 6-4 aggregate win over the Portuguese team.

Juergen Klopp’s side had been 3-1 up on the night before the visitors struck twice late in the game to add a few nerves to what had appeared to be a comfortable passage.

Benfica forward Darwin Nunez had seen an effort ruled out for offside before Liverpool took the lead with a powerful header from a corner by defender Ibrahima Konate in the 21st minute.

The lead on the night lasted just 11 minutes though before Benfica pulled level through Goncalo Ramos, who beat Alisson Becker after a tackle from James Milner had fallen to him on the edge of the box.

Brazilian Firmino scored twice after the break as Liverpool looked to make sure of a place in the semi-finals for the third time in five seasons.

But Benfica stuck at the task well and pulled two goals back with Roman Yaremchuk and Nunez both scoring with efforts that were initially ruled out for offside but then allowed after VAR reviews. Nunez had an effort disallowed in stoppage time.