Bayern, Liverpool need comebacks to reach Champions League semis
City travel to Dortmund
LONDON April 12, (AP): The Champions League talking points ahead of the Tuesday and Wednesday secondleg matches in the quarter-finals: PSG vs Bayern (3-2)
Bayern head to Paris as a team of walking wounded, while PSG are likely to be without its best defender Marquinhos and waiting to see if key midfielder Marco Verratti has recovered in time from coronavirus. Marquinhos sustained an adductor injury in the first leg and is likely to be missing at Parc des Princes. But Bayern’s concerns are worse. Coach Hansi Flick’s side are running on low fuel after this weekend’s 1-1 draw with Union Berlin,
SOCCER
where Flick tried to rest some firstchoice players. Goal-scoring winger Serge Gnabry won’t return from isolation in time to face PSG after his positive test for the virus. Former PSG striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is still deputizing for the prolific Robert Lewandowski, who was sorely missed when chances galore were wasted last week in Bayern’s loss to PSG. But indications are that left back Lucas Hernandez, midfielder Leon Goretzka and winger Kingsley Coman could be ready in time. Flick badly needs a fit Coman, who scored the winner in last year’s final against PSG and looks to have shaken off a sore knee from Saturday.
Chelsea vs Porto (2-0) Winning the Champions League might be the only path back into the competition next season for Chelsea. For all the progress under Thomas Tuchel, the London club are in fifth place in the Premier League even after an emphatic 4-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Coronavirus travel restrictions mean the second leg is being played in Seville, Spain, just like the first leg last week. This counts as Porto’s away game. They have won five in a row in all competitions, the latest against Tondela in the Portuguese league on Saturday keeping the team second. The defending Portuguese champion are seeking their first semifinal appearance since 2004, when José Mourinho guided the club to their second European Cup. Porto, however, have lost their last six matches with English clubs. Their leading scorer in the competition
Dortmund vs Man City (1-2) Reaching the semifinals would be a huge achievement for Dortmund, which are not on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League while seven points outside of the Bundesliga’s top four. That will make it very hard to keep star striker Erling Haaland in the face of interest from Europe’s biggest clubs. However, sporting director Michael Zorc has said the club is planning to start next season with the Norwegian in the squad.