The 2022/23 Champions League quarter finals concluded with engaging second-leg actions with four teams now decided to enter the semi-finals next month. Defending champions Real Madrid, Premier League holders Manchester City and two Milan clubs, Inter and Milan will compete in the last four to enter the final in Istanbul for the prize.
Quarterfinal 2nd leg round up
Napoli 1-1 Milan (1-2 on aggregate)
Oliver Giroud saw his penalty saved by Alex Meret in an eventful second leg at Maradona but he sorted his redemption by doubling Milan’s lead in the 37th minute after a sensational run from Rafael Leao, who won the spot-kick in the first place, split open Napoli’s defence. The Rossoneri’s number one Mike Maignan became the hero again by saving Khvicha Kvaratskelia’s late penalty to deny Napoli a late comeback with Victor Osimhen’s injury-time goal proving not enough as the home side bow out.
Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid (0-4 on aggregate)
Chelsea performed bravely at Stamford Bridge but failed to apply a finishing touch to the numerous chances they created at least to take a lead in the game. N’Golo Kante missed a golden opportunity in the first half and saw his effort blocked in front of goal by Eder Militao while former Blues keeper Thibaut Courtois denied Marc Cucurella from close range. Despite not playing well, Real Madrid were clinical with their chances as Brazilian winger Rodrigo scored twice in the second half to send the holders through.
Inter 3-3 Benfica (5-3 on aggregate)
12 goals were scored in the second leg with half of those coming in the match between Inter and Benfica at San Siro in the 3-3 thriller. Leading 2-0 from the first leg, the Nerazzuri put themselves further ahead in the tie through a show-stopping curler from Nicolo Barella in the 14th minute. Fredrik Aursnes then got the Portuguese side level in the game with a thumping header past Andre Onana from a cross by Rafa Silva right before half-time. Di Marco then fed Lautaro Martinez to retake the lead and then substitute Joaquin Correa for Inter's third in the 78th minute. Simone Inzaghi’s side had to survive a late flurry from Benfica next, with Silva and substitute Petar Musa scoring in the last 10 minutes of the match, to confirm their semi-final berth.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Manchester City (1-4 on aggregate)
Bayern Munich welcome Manchester City at Allianz Arena knowing they had a near-impossible job in hand to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit. The Bavarians were unlucky not to have made the most of the threat they produced in the match even when Erling Haaland blazed a first-half penalty to the stands. The Norwegian did not make the same mistake with the second opportunity of scoring presented to him to knock the German side out of the contest. Joshua Kimmich's 83rd-minute penalty conversion meant little at the end.
Quarterfinal 2nd leg stats and records
11th Time
Real Madrid have now reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for a record-extending 11th time in 13 seasons. They have now progressed from 19 out of 20 ties winning the first leg and are the first-ever side to win multiple Champions League away games against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos also made their 150 appearances in European competitions on the same evening.
Losing run
Frank Lampard is the first ever Chelsea manager not to win any of his first four games in charge of the club in the Premier League era:
Wolves 1-0 Chelsea
Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-2 Brighton
Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid
Not the return he was hoping for. pic.twitter.com/Fc1tlvT2qq
Chelsea have lost four consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since the year 1993 when they lost six in a row. Frank Lampard is also the first-ever manager to have lost in his first four games in charge of the club. The Blues have secured only one win in the last four meetings against Real Madrid having won three out of five without losing prior to this period.
10 times
Pep Guardiola is the first manager in Champions League history to reach the semi-finals in 10 different seasons. The club also became only the third English side to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League in three consecutive seasons after Chelsea and Manchester United both from 2006-07 to 2008-09 season.
The best
No player has scored more Champions League goals for a Premier League club in a single season than Erling Haaland for Man City in 2022/23. #UCL pic.twitter.com/Gkp1ntQ6dw
Manchester City has scored the most goals in the Champions League with 26 and conceded the fewest, only four, this season. Erling Haaland has scored 12 of those strikes ranking himself first in the top scorer list in the competition. It is the most he managed for a Premier League side in a single Champions League season, level with Ruud van Nistelrooy's record set in the 2002/03 campaign.
Flurry of goals
Olivier Giroud has been involved in seven goals from nine European outings, the best tally for Milan since his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 2011-12 season.
Most time
AC Milan have now reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the seventh time which is the joint most by an Italian side in the competition alongside Juventus. This is their first last-four appearance since winning the competition in the 2003-04 season.
