Haaland fires City into CL semis against Madrid

Munich, Apr. 21: His 48th goal for Manchester City this season. Erling Haaland scored again Wednesday for City to advance to a Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid with a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarterfinal.

The Norway forward missed a first-half penalty but atoned by sealing City’s progress with a 4-1 win on aggregate by scoring on a counterattack in the 57th minute, just after Bayern missed a good chance at the other end.

Bayern’s lack of confidence after losing the first leg 3-0 in Manchester showed as it failed to take advantage of numerous chances.

“We really wanted to take the lead in the first half,” said Joshua Kimmich, who scored Bayern’s consolation from the penalty spot in the 83rd. “We had a few chances, very, very good chances, and we needed the lead against City to make them nervous. It’s obviously easier for them when they can keep it scoreless for a long time. It’s very annoying ... I’d like to have experienced the second half if we’d scored in the first.”

The penalty was awarded after City defender Manuel Akanji was cited through VAR for handball.

Bayern counterpart Dayot Upamecano was also penalized for handball when İlkay Gündoğan’s cross grazed the bottom of his arm in the 35th, but Haaland blasted that spot kick just over the bar.

Kevin De Bruyne played Haaland through to settle it early in the second half, when the unfortunate Upamecano slipped as he tried to recover.

“We played very well in the difficult moments, we were very compact and we didn’t give Bayern much,” De Bruyne said. “At the other end we got one chance. And when we scored the goal, it was much harder for Bayern.”

City did little in manager Pep Guardiola’s return to the club he led to three consecutive Bundesliga titles between 2014-16, but the visitors didn’t need to thanks to their commanding lead from the first leg and Bayern’s lack of efficiency.

It is the Bavarian powerhouse’s third consecutive quarterfinal exit since winning the tournament in 2020 and the second competition it has been knocked out of in as many weeks following Freiburg’s win over Bayern in the German Cup quarterfinals.

Inter set up Milan derby 

The Milan clubs are set to meet again in another Champions League semifinal a decade after their last encounter in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition.

Inter Milan drew 3-3 against Benfica on Wednesday to complete a 5-3 aggregate victory over the Portuguese team. That came a day after AC Milan prevailed against Napoli in their quarterfinal.

After Nicolò Barella’s opener for Inter, Fredrik Aursnes restored some hope for Benfica shortly before halftime. But Lautaro Martínez and substitute Joaquín Correa netted in the second half to help Inter reach its first semifinal since José Mourinho led it to the treble of the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup in 2010.

Inter nevertheless managed to relinquish a two-goal lead as António Silva and Petar Musa netted late on for Benfica.

“Obviously I am happy, and I am happy for the boys because it is an important and historic achievement,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “We’ve come a long way, from a very, very difficult group.

“With regards to the goals, their forward did well on the second goal and on the third goal we heard a whistle and so several players stopped. Of course I would have wanted to have won 3-2 and I’m more disappointed for the boys but we were already through to the semifinal and there was that whistle that we heard on the bench too … we would have deserved the win.”

The Nerazzurri will face its city rival in a repeat of the 2003 semifinal. AC Milan won that on away goals and went on to beat Juventus in the final.

“It’s a very special match, we know what it means to play a match of this sort,” Inter forward Martínez said. “Now we have to pick up points again in Serie A and then we’ll think about the Champions League.

“I play this sport to win everything.”

Nerazzurri took the lead with their very first chance, in the 14th minute, as Barella rode a tackle and played a one-two with Martínez before curling a delightful effort into the top left corner.

However, a defensive lapse saw Benfica get back into the quarterfinal seven minutes from the break as Aursnes got in front of Denzel Dumfries to head in Rafa Silva’s cross from the right.

Buoyed by that goal, Benfica continued to press but it was Inter that scored in the 65th minute, to all but put the outcome beyond doubt.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan cut a pass in from the left to Federico Dimarco, who crossed for the easiest of finishes as Martínez prodded it into the roof of the net from point-blank range.

And Correa capped a brilliant night for Inter by curling in off the right post two minutes after coming off the bench.

António Silva headed in a free kick for the visitors with four minutes remaining to add some respectability to the scoreline, before Musa drilled through a sea of legs in stoppage time to at least end Benfica’s losing run. (AP)