Real Madrid cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals as Karim Benzema’s second-half goal secured a comfortable 1-0 win over Liverpool in their last-16 second leg that wrapped up a 6-2 aggregate victory on Wednesday. Bidding to win back-to-back Champions League titles and a record-extending 15th European crown, a disciplined Real seemed content to sit back against a tame Liverpool who carried little threat for most of the game. Real spurned several opportunities to open the scoring as they looked to exploit Vinicius Jr’s speed on the counter-attack but could not break the deadlock until late in the second half. They sealed victory in the 79th minute when Vinicius flicked a loose ball inside the area to Benzema who tapped it into the empty net. “There is no easy wins in the Champions League, and it was a complicated match, but we showed from the beginning how serious we are in our desire to go far in the competition this season,” Benzema told Movistar Plus. In need of a three-goal win after losing 5-2 at home, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp picked a very attacking team with forwards Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez in the starting line-up. Nunez almost scored in the sixth minute after Salah stole the ball from Eder Militao and set up the Uruguayan, but his low shot was blocked by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Rola AlGhoul/ Esraa Esmail
Source: Emirates News Agency