CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK (4-3-3): GK Odysseas Vlachodimos (Benfica). He conceded three goals. But it could have been twice as many. The Greece international had a busy evening against Liverpool at the Estadio da Luz. He can expect a demanding one at Anfield next week, too, but he has just about kept Benfica’s slim hopes in the tie alive. Getty

Real Madrid pair lead attack after Chelsea thrashing: Champions League team of the week



The first leg fixtures of the Uefa Champions League quarter-finals were played out this week and there were some stunning results across Europe.

On Tuesday, Liverpool put one foot in the semi-finals after comfortably defeating Benfica 3-1 in Portugal, with goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane, and Luis Diaz. Dawid Nunez got on the scoresheet for the Lisbon side to provide a glimmer of hope ahead of the return fixture at Anfield next Wednesday.

On the same night, Manchester City earned a slender lead in their tie with Atletico Madrid after Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal of the game at the Etihad.

While Tuesday's matches went largely as expected, Wednesday was a different story. Villarreal stunned German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 - and could have won by more - through Arnaut Danjuma, while Real Madrid thrashed holders Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat-trick. Kai Havertz pulled one back for the Blues, who now face a huge task to overturn the deficit at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Assessing the performances from the Champions League quarter-final first legs, Ian Hawkey has selected his team of the week in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.

Updated: April 07, 2022, 4:19 AM