Manchester City and Liverpool won their respective first legs of the Champions League 2021–2022 semi-finals in the midst of this week. Before the second match, both English clubs have a significant edge over their Spanish opponents after winning the first leg. Man City and Liverpool will be able to reach the final if they can maintain their present form in their next Champions League games. If that happens, this year's Champions League final will once again be an all-English affair.  Manchester City vs Real Madrid: 2022 Champions League Semi-Final Scenario Manchester City were favourites to win the first leg of their semi-final encounter against Real Madrid, and they performed as such throughout the match. Man City had 60 percent of the ball possession, completing 613 passes compared to Real Madrid's 416. This statistic reveals Real Madrid wanted to play counter-attacking football, whereas Manchester City preferred possession-based total football. Kevin de Bruyne's goal in the second minute gave the Citizens the lead for the first time in the game. Brazilian, Gabriel Jesus doubled the lead a few minutes later. Los Blancos cut the deficit in half in the 33rd minute, thanks to a goal by Karim Benzema. Phil Foden's goal in the 53rd minute gave the hosts a two-goal lead, but it only lasted two minutes as Brazilian Vinicius Jr made it 3-2 in the 55th minute. Read Liverpool vs Villarreal 2022: Champions League Semi-Final Preview, Team News, Prediction Manchester City kept attacking the opposition defense in the view of improving their lead, and Bernardo Silva did just that in the 74th minute with a stunning goal. Karim Benzema threw away the citizens lead with a magnificent Panenka penalty in the 88th minute. The match finished with a 4-3 victory for Manchester City. With a one-goal advantage, Man City will play Real Madrid in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday, May 5. The aggregate goals will determine the winner. Considering both teams' present strength and form, Manchester City will surely have the upper hand in this semi-final tie. If they qualify, the defending Premier League champions are likely to face an English opponent in back-to-back Champions League finals. Read Manchester City vs Real Madrid 2022: Champions League Semi-Final Match Preview Liverpool vs Villarreal: Scenario for the Champions League 2021-2022 Semi-Final The first leg of Liverpool's semi-final match was played at Anfield against Villarreal. Liverpool are the most in-form team in Europe right now, and they dominated Villarreal in this encounter. Only one shot was made at the Liverpool goalpost by the visitors, whereas the hosts had 19 attempts. More importantly, each side's ball possession reflected the real scenario. Liverpool enjoyed 74% ball possession against Villarreal's 26%. Furthermore, Liverpool completed 737 passes, whereas Villarreal only completed 272. Pervis Estupinan scored an own goal in the 53rd minute to give Liverpool the lead. Sadio Mane made it 2-0 only two minutes later. After that, no goals were scored, but Liverpool's performance demonstrated their actual ability as a team. Read PSG Secure 10th Ligue 1 Trophy Courtesy of Lionel Messi's Amazing Strike On the other hand, Villarreal's major strategy was to concede fewer goals in order to make the second leg of the semi-final match more open. Villarreal's prospect of making a strong comeback in the second leg are slim after witnessing Liverpool's performance in the first leg.   Aftermath Manchester City triumphed 4-3 over Real Madrid in a high-scoring contest in the first leg. According to the latest UEFA guidelines, away goal regulations are no longer in place. Therefore, Man City can be relaxed going into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. On the other hand, Liverpool's 2-goal advantage in the first leg will help them execute their game plan against Villarreal at the El Madrigal in the second leg. Manchester City and Liverpool are two of Europe's top clubs, therefore a tough battle is expected if they meet in the Champions League 2021–2022 final.  Read English Premier League 2021-22: Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United Race for Top Four

Manchester City have withdrawn from the European Super League (ESL) and Chelsea are also preparing to do so, according to reports in the British media. Efforts to leave come just two days after both were announced as two of six English clubs to sign up to the controversial new competition. The ESL has been widely criticised since being announced on Sunday, reports BBC. Around 1,000 fans gathered outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home ground before their game against Brighton on Tuesday to protest their involvement. Chelsea and City were part of English football's 'big six' clubs - alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham - to have agreed to join the new league. In total, 12 European clubs announced their intentions to form the breakaway league, which they hoped to establish as a new midweek competition. It was condemned by football authorities and government ministers in the UK and across Europe by Uefa and leagues associations. Chelsea were the first club to indicate they will not press ahead by preparing documentation to withdrawn. City withdrew soon after. Chelsea and City were not drivers of this plan, they were the last to sign and feared being left behind. It is not clear how easy it is or how binding the contracts are. The decision to try and have Chelsea leave was taken by owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board after witnessing negative global reaction to the Super League. There was a fear that it could do reputational damage to the club. Questions were raised internally as to whether fans would respond to the club if it continued with a proposal which has gone down so badly. The decision was made earlier on Tuesday before protests started outside Stamford Bridge. Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with the Football Association, Premier League officials and fans' representatives, after which the government said it will take "whatever action necessary", including legislative options, to ensure the proposals were stopped. Johnson's stance is supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. A statement released after a meeting between the Premier League and the 14 clubs not involved said they "unanimously and vigorously" rejected plans for the competition. It added that it is considering "all actions available" to stop the competition and asked the six teams to end their involvement immediately. Meanwhile late breaking reports suggest Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman of Manchester United, has handed in his resignation in the backlash of the ESL's announcement, putting in doubt whether the club will now go ahead with the breakaway league. In a parallel development TALKSport is reporting that Andrea Agnelli has resigned from his post as president of Juventus, one of 3 Italian clubs involved in the fiasco.

Last season’s FA Cup winner Arsenal was eliminated from the competition in the fourth round on Saturday thanks to Gabriel’s own-goal in a 1-0 loss to Southampton, while Manchester City survived a scare to beat fourth-tier Cheltenham 3-1.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City showed personality and skill to come from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.

Manchester City came from behind to beat Leicester 3-1 on Saturday and look like the team most capable of challenging first-place Liverpool for the Premier League title.

After the lights went out in the changing room, Manchester City finally found a way to shine on the pitch again.

Leaders Liverpool took an important step towards the Premier League title with a 3-1 win at home to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker had to fill in as an emergency goalkeeper to help preserve a 1-1 draw at Atalanta on Wednesday, as the Italian side earned its first point in the Champions League.

Manchester, Oct 27 (AP/UNB) — Raheem Sterling scored his fourth goal of the week as Manchester City beat Aston Villa 3-0 Saturday and cut the gap to Premier League leader Liverpool to three points.