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Manchester City have a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
It was a result City had to eek out against an Atletico side who had clearly travelled to England with the aim of simply denying Pep Guardiola's side opportunities and who failed to produce a single shot on target.
Diego Simeone's outfit had frustrated City throughout the first half with their deep lying defending and reliance on only the occasional counter to threaten the hosts.
City rotated the ball with their usual expertise and made it difficult for Atletico to push out from their deep defensive formation, while never over-committing themselves.
But the Premier League champions were unable to turn their total dominance of possession into clear chances with Aymeric Laporte having one of the best opportunities after the break, but the defender's header from a corner was off target.
Atletico's rare breaks served as a reminder to City that they had to keep some discipline, although when the Spaniards did fashion an opening Marcos Llorente failed to test Ederson.
City kept their shape and moved the ball well but it took the introduction of substitute Phil Foden for the home side to find the missing ingredient.
Foden, who came on with Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus, drew three defenders towards him before splitting the Spanish rearguard with a perfectly weighted pass to De Bruyne who slotted past goalkeeper Jan Oblak with a side-foot finish.
De Bruyne then had space for another attempt on goal, which was well blocked by defender Stefan Savic's outstretched foot.
The second leg will be held at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid next Wednesday but before then City have a crucial clash at home to Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool take firm grip after big win over Benfica
Liverpool took a firm grip of their Champions League tie with Benfica as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a 3-1 victory in Lisbon in their quarter-final first leg.
Konate opened the scoring with a close-range header from a corner and Mane extended Liverpool's lead from a Diaz assist 30 minutes into what was an one-sided first half, with Mohamed Salah, Diaz and Naby Keita all passing up great scoring chances.
Yet five minutes after the break, 22-year-old French defender Konate completely missed a cross and allowed in-form striker Darwin Nunez to score and put Benfica, roared on by a sold-out Estadio da Luz, back into the game.
The hosts gained in confidence and briefly took charge but former Porto winger Diaz, who never lost a match against their bitter rivals Benfica, scored on the counter-attack after a Keita through ball.
Diogo Jota still had a chance to extend Liverpool's lead further in added time but Benfica keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos denied them a fourth with his left leg in a one-on-one.
The 27-year-old Greek was responsible for at least five important saves that denied Liverpool a bigger win.
"It was a tough game but we had plenty opportunities to score more after the second, couldn't do that, got sloppy and allowed them to get back into the game lifted by the crowd," Liverpool left back Andy Robertson told BT Sport.
"Luis Diaz got a nice reception from the start, playing for one of their rivals, but a good goal for him and a two-goal cushion makes a difference. Hopefully we can get the job done."
Liverpool faced pressure at times, mainly from the Portuguese league's top scorer Nunez who showed why he is one of the most-coveted young strikers in Europe.
Nunez was a constant threat, but Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker stayed solid under pressure.
