MADNESS!
Llorente’s VAR goal settles topsy-turvy epic for Spurs on night of pure . . .
TOTTENHAM knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League on away goals in a classic quarter-final last night.
Substitute Fernando Llorente put Spurs ahead in the tie after 73 minutes — surviving a dramatic VAR review for handball, the ball going in off his hip.
Then Raheem Sterling thought he had sent Manchester City through to the semi-finals after completing a hat-trick in stoppage time, only for the video referee to judge Sergio Aguero offside in the build-up.
In Portugal, Liverpool beat Porto 4-1 on the night to win 6-1 on aggregate and book a semi-final against Barcelona. But at the Etihad, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino hailed his Tottenham heroes after ending City’s dreams of the ‘Quadruple’ in such dramatic fashion.
‘It was unbelievable — the way it finished,’ he said. ‘I am so happy, so proud. My players are heroes to be here. I am so happy for them, so happy for the fans. In a moment many things happened in
your head, the disappointment was massive but they changed the decision. That is why we love football. We showed great character and great personality it was an unbelievable game.
‘Whatever happened I was going to feel proud. I’m more than proud now they have made history.’
In a crazy opening 21 minutes the teams shared five goals. Sterling curled in to level the tie before Son Heung-min scored twice in three minutes to give Tottenham the advantage.
Bernardo Silva, Sterling and Sergio Aguero then swung the tie City’s way before Llorente’s 73rd-minute goal.
Spurs will face Ajax in the last four. It is the first time in a decade two English clubs have reached the semi-finals.
Son, who was booked and will miss the semi-final first leg, said Tottenham showed ‘unbelievable fight’, telling BT Sport: ‘I have never seen something like this. It was tough and crazy but we are very proud of our team-mates. It was madness. Sometimes you are annoyed with VAR but today we say “thank you”. We fought together for 90 minutes.’
City manager Pep Guardiola said: ‘I support VAR, but from one angle Llorente’s goal is handball. The referee must be helped.’
Guardiola lamented individual mistakes over the two legs. Aguero fluffed a penalty at Spurs and Aymeric Laporte made two huge errors last night.
‘We created an incredible amount of chances today,’ added Guardiola. ‘We reacted well. It’s tough. We were so close. It’s cruel. We have to accept it. I’ve never seen the stadium like it was today since I came in Manchester. They know we gave absolutely everything and football is like this, unpredictable.’
The sides meet at the Etihad again on Saturday in the League.