Liverpool’s aggregate win over Benfica on Wednesday, after a 3-3 draw on the night, was another historic step towards the Reds’ pursuit of an unimaginable quadruple at home and in Europe this season. But regardless of future aspirations, the result ensured that Liverpool had indeed broken records this season – a feat that only another English club could.
Liverpool have now reached the semi-finals of the European Cup/Champions League to mark a record 12th time for an English team. No English team has reached the semi-finals on more occasions – Manchester United are level 12, according to Opta Go in the tweet below…
12- Liverpool reached the semi-finals of the European Cup / Champions League for the twelfth time. No English team has reached the last four very often (the level with Manchester United). Power.
– OptaJoe (OptaJoe) April 13, 2022
Liverpool returned 3-1 to Anfield this week after beating Benfica at home a week ago, and thus were a strong candidate to secure a result at home and advance to the next stage.
This is the first time since their win in the 2018-2019 season that Liverpool have reached this stage of the competition, and they will be looking to repeat the result this time around. Liverpool must first overcome the formidable ‘yellow submarine’ to kill giants Villarreal who shocked Bayern Munich in the previous round, while Manchester City, contenders for the Premier League title, will have to improve Real Madrid to reach this year’s final.
While Manchester United have reached the semi-finals on the same number of occasions, it is Merseyside that have had more success in the later stages. Liverpool had lost only two of their previous 11 Champions League semi-final matches, eventually winning the tournament six times – a record for an English club. On the other hand, United have only managed to turn the 12 semi-finals into five finals, winning three of them.
With a Champions League-winning pedigree already among the squad, Liverpool will certainly be among the favorites to go on to lift the trophy again at the end of the season.
