First leg action in UEFA Champions League quarter-finals begins
Tottenham edge Manchester City in new stadium
Liverpool shut out Porto at Anfield
Tottenham Hotspur played their first ever UEFA Champions League match in their new stadium and celebrated the occasion with an event-filled 1-0 victory over fellow English Premier League side Manchester City.
Hugo Lloris saved a penalty kick taken by Sergio Aguero early in the first half after Danny Rose was adjudged to have handled the ball following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, and that seemed to be the turning point for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
Despite losing star forward Harry Kane to an ankle injury in the 58th minute, Spurs eventually found the breakthrough in the 78th minute when Son Heungmin curled in a shot that squeezed underneath City goalkeeper Ederson. It proved to be the winning goal.
Tottenham will take their 1-0 lead to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium for the second leg on Wednesday 17 April.
Reds roll to home win
First-half goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino propelled Liverpool to a 2-0 win over Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie at Anfield.
The Reds jumped on the visitors early. First it was Firmino teeing up Keita in the fifth minute, with the Brazilian finding his team-mate in space just inside the edge of the 18-yard box. Keita took a touch and fired past Iker Casillas, his strike aided by a deflection from Oliver Torres' sliding challenge.
Next it was Firmino's turn. Trent Alexander-Arnold ran clean through on an incisive ball played by Jordan Henderson, then Alexander-Arnold picked out the streaking Firmino for a tap-in to double the hosts' advantage in the 26th minute.
Four minutes later Alisson was forced into a one-on-one save to keep Porto forward Moussa Marega off the scoresheet. The Liverpool goalkeeper's sprawling effort stymied one of Porto's best chances to get back in the match.
The Portuguese side will have their chance to climb back into the tie at home on 17 April, when Liverpool visit the Estadio do Dragao.
Did you know?
Iker Casillas played in his 176th Champions League match, extending the record for most appearances in the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo follows on 160 matches.
Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last 15 matches in all competitions (W10-D5-L0), since a 2-1 loss at Wolves in the FA Cup third round on 7 January
Son Heungmin scored his tenth Champions League goal. Son becomes the second player from Asia to reach the 10-goal mark in the competition after Maxim Shatskikh (11) from Uzbekistan.
The last time Man City failed to score in a Champions League match was in their 3-0 defeat at Liverpool in last season's quarter-final.