| City cell | Mangalam

MADRID: Former champions Manchester City will face Atletico Madrid and Liverpool Benfica in the second quarter-finals of the Champions League today.

The second leg will be played between Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano and Liverpool’s Anfield. City won 1-0 in the first quarter and Liverpool 3-1. With the win in the away match, Liverpool have no significant worries. Manchester City won 1-0 in the first quarter. Athletico can advance to the semi-finals if they do not let City score at home and win by more than one goal.

City will play 100 matches in the Champions League today. They have won 55 of the 99 matches they have played so far. This is the best record among English Premier League clubs.

Only Real Madrid in Spain is ahead of City. They have won 57 of 100 matches. Atletico Madrid striker Antonio Griezmann has scored 29 goals so far in the league.

Griezmann holds the record for the fourth most goals scored by a Frenchman in the league. If he scores one more time, Griezmann will own the record. Karim Benzema (82), Thierry Henry (50) and Killian Mbabane (33) are ahead of Griezmann.

City’s Algerian goalkeeper Riyadh Maher has set a new record of six consecutive goals in superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s league knockout. This is only the second match between Manchester City and Atletico. City have the advantage of winning the first game they play. City are set to play in Wanda Metropolitano for the first time.

City have won just three of their last 11 matches against Spanish teams. They lost seven and drew one. City’s best performance against Spanish teams was their 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in February 2020. From November 2017 to October 2020, Atletico won nine of the ten matches played at their home ground. But victory in the seven subsequent Champions League home matches was a no-brainer.

Their last win was a 3-2 victory over Salzburg in October 2020. Diego Simeone’s disciples failed to score a single goal in the first quarter. Wanda Metropolitano Stadium will only allow half the spectators. The ban was imposed by the organizing committee after Atletico fans threw bottles on the field during the first quarter match in Manchester.