The ‘Incredible’ Champions League Semi-Final

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Words are lost when it comes to describing the feeling of joy and ecstasy in a football fans heart. This semi-final was just that. No one could have scripted what was about to happen. Both the matchups were of equal tenacity and excitement, and both provided enough action to last a lifetime. Who would have guessed that Liverpool would stop the colossal Barcelona? On the other side, the fans had lost all hope that Tottenham would be able to surmount the supposedly unconquerable Ajax. But here we are, an all Premier League battle waiting for us at the summit of the Champions League in Madrid.

Liverpool vs Barcelona 

Image Source - UEFA Champions League Twitter Page

Ahh, Barcelona! They always were the favourites to reach the finals, but Jurgen Klopp’s men had something else in mind. After a fantastic showing in the first leg, all thanks to a superhuman performance from Lionel Messi, Barcelona were prognosticated to go into the finals and lift the cup. But the second leg had a very big surprise in store for them. Divock Origi struck in the seventh minute itself to give Liverpool the lead. That was the scoreline for the rest of the first half. In the second half, the real drama began. Within a span of two minutes, Liverpool were two more goals up by the 56th minute and now stood level with Barcelona in terms of aggregate goals. Both of these goals were scored by Liverpool midfielder Geoginio Wijnaldum, who coincidentally had come in as a half time substitute for the injured Andrew Robertson. The Liverpool defence was doing a superb job of keeping Messi quiet for the entirety of the match. The scores were now level; both the teams were doing their best to win the match. In the 78th minute, Liverpool was awarded a corner. The goal that followed was a thing of absolute cunning brilliance by two players; Trent Alexander-Arnold, the man who took the corner and Divock Origi, the man who put the Liverpool’s fourth and his second goal of the night into the net. They took advantage of the heedless Barcelona defence. What followed was an overflow of emotions and a miraculous comeback that Liverpool had finally done. The hapless Barcelona team could not do anything against the sheer determination of the Reds. What could have been the result of Barcelona’s downfall? Is it overconfidence? Who knows?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Ajax

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Ajax was turning out to be the Leicester City story of the Champions League this season. They had the world at their feet and their head above the clouds. Nothing could stop them. They had overcome the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus. How could a team like Tottenham Hotspur, which had a not so good run in the domestic league recently, defeat a team that went through behemoths? But people often forget that this is football! You never know which team may beat you. Similar is the story of Tottenham and Ajax. After the first leg home defeat of Tottenham by one goal, it was predicted that Ajax would have no problem whatsoever in trouncing them again. And that was what people believed till the first half of the second leg when Ajax struck in the 5th minute and the 35th minute. Goals from Mathijs de Ligt, the young Ajax captain and Hakim Ziyech, the supremely talented right winger, ensured that Ajax was leading by three goals on aggregate by the end of the first half. The second half began and Tottenham rallied. Their rally was led by their attacker Lucas Moura. Ten minutes into the second half, Lucas Moura scored Tottenham’s first goal of the match as well as the tie. Just four minutes had passed since his first goal and Lucas scored his and Tottenham’s second goal in the 59th minute. Lucas’s small dribble and pinpoint finish ignited hopes in the heart of the Tottenham fans. They started believing that a comeback was possible. But after the second goal, the game grew tense and chances were provided to both the team. But neither of them could make use of the chances provided. 90 minutes were over and there were just 6 additional minutes for Tottenham to make the comeback. Ajax was not as tensed because if the scoreline remained the same then they would go onto the finals. In the 96th minute, the ball was received by Dele Alli who flicked it on to Lucas Moura, who in turn scored a precise finish in the bottom corner to provide Tottenham’s third goal of the night and also completed probably his most important hattrick to secure a place in the finals. The score was level on aggregate, but Tottenham went through on the basis of away goals scored. Emotional scenes were seen everywhere. There were tears in the eyes of Ajax as well as Tottenham players and supporters, albeit one was of sadness and the other one was of joy. This truly was an epic comeback. With this, Ajax’s dream run in the Champions League came to an end.

There is truly something special with the Champions League this time around. The finals will be yet another cracking contest when Liverpool and Tottenham, both very old rivals, face each other at the Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid on 2nd June. On the other side of Europe, another final would also be taking place. That is the Europa League! And even this is an all-English final, with Chelsea and Arsenal going against each other at the Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan on 30th May.