Manchester City and Liverpool are the best two teams in England, and they might be the best two teams in Europe. The way the Champions League draw has worked, the contenders for the Premier League title could end up meeting in the continental final in Paris at the end of May, and both took a step closer to that with victories in the first legs of their respective Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday. Both were dominant, and both won relatively comfortably, Liverpool 3–1 away to Benfica and Man City 1–0 at home against Atlético Madrid.
Man City will play Liverpool in the league at the Etihad on Sunday and then again in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley the following Saturday. With the second legs of these Champions League ties to come next Wednesday, the sense is that the next 10 days could define the season for both clubs. Such has been Liverpool’s relentless form, that Man City, without doing much wrong, has seen a Premier League lead that once seemed impregnable whittled down to a single point. Were Liverpool to win on Sunday, it would become the clear favorite.
And such has been the feeling of Premier League domination of the Champions League—two of the past three finals have been all-English affairs, while the enormous broadcast deals have insulated Premier League clubs from the worst financial impact of the pandemic as others have struggled—that these quarterfinal first legs felt almost like a warmup to Sunday’s main event.
