Liverpool ousts Benfica, through to CL semifinals
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND >> Liverpool didn't need its best players to secure progress to the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp opted to rest stars like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and saw his backups play out a wild 3-3 draw with Benfica in the second leg of the quarterfinals to wrap up a 6-4 aggregate win.
Villarreal awaits Liverpool in the last four.
Ibrahima Konaté, one of the scorers in Liverpool's 3-1 win in the first leg, netted another header for Klopp's team for the first goal and Roberto Firmino added two more in the second half at Anfield.
Gonçalo Ramos had made it 1-1 on the night in the 32nd minute — keeping Benfica in with the unlikeliest of chances — but Liverpool never looked like squandering its big advantage, even though substitute Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Núñez scored goals for the visitors in the 73rd and 82nd minutes, respectively.
Liverpool stayed on course to win the competition for a seventh time, and for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies this season. That Klopp was able to rotate so heavily after building a commanding lead in Lisbon last week should enable Liverpool to field a full-strength team against Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday.
MAN CITY FENDS OFF ATLÉTICO, REACHES CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS >>
Manchester City held Atlético Madrid to a 0-0 draw Wednesday to return to the Champions League semifinals and keep alive its hopes of winning Europe's top club competition for the first time.
City advanced thanks to its 1-0 win in the first leg last week.
In the end, it was Pep Guardiola getting the best of Diego Simeone in the battle of styles between City's offensive-minded tactics and Atlético's more cautious approach.
Atlético's attack struggled again and the Spanish club managed only two attempts on target after having none in the first leg.
NFL
MAYFIELD: BROWNS `DISRESPECTED', DECEIVED HIM >>
Baker Mayfield feels the Cleveland Browns deceived him about their offseason plans, which resulted in them trading for Deshaun Watson.
Speaking on a podcast, Mayfield, whose tumultuous four-year run as Cleveland's quarterback essentially ended when the team acquired Watson in a stunning deal last month with the Houston Texans, said the team was not upfront with him.
“I feel disrespected 100% because I was told one thing and they completely did another,” Mayfield said in an appearance on the “Ya Never Know” podcast, which was taped last week.
Mayfield struggled while playing most of last season with a torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder, which he injured in Week 2. Cleveland fell way short of expectations, finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs after ending a long postseason drought the previous season.
College football COACHES WORRY ABOUT NIL >>
Nick Saban's willingness to adapt and often be a catalyst for change in college football, both on the field and off, has propelled Alabama to six national championships in 13 seasons.
The 70-year-old coach is confident his program will continue to thrive during this new era of college athletics, with players having more opportunities to earn money than ever before and more power to determine where they play.
But the current state of college football has Saban concerned.
“I don't think what we're doing right now is a sustainable model,” Saban told the Associated Press in a recent interview.
College basketball
TAR HEELS' BACOT RETURNING TO UNC AFTER NCAA TITLE-GAME RUN >> North Carolina big man Armando Bacot is returning for his senior season after the Tar Heels fell a game short of winning an improbable national championship.
He announced his decision in a social-media video, nine days after the Tar Heels lost to Kansas in the NCAA title game in New Orleans.
“This year's experience showed me that I do not want to miss the chance to do it again next season,” Bacot said.
Considered a potential second-round NBA draft prospect, the 6-foot10 junior's post presence was critical to the eighthseeded Tar Heels reaching a record 21st Final Four in coach Hubert Davis' debut season.