UEFA Youth League quarter-finals: Sporting, AZ, Milan through; Dortmund-Hajduk to come | UEFA Youth League
AZ Alkmaar beat the last remaining former UEFA Youth League champions Real Madrid and set up a semi-final with Sporting CP, while AC Milan await the winner of the final clash between Borussia Dortmund and Hajduk Split, which will be broadcast on UEFA.tv .
After AC Milan defeated Atlético after Sporting beat Liverpool and eliminated AZ Madrid on Tuesday, all four sides will make their first appearances in April’s UEFA Youth League finals at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland. Madrid’s elimination also ensures their seventh different winning club in the tournament’s nine editions.
All games are one-offs and if the score is even after 90 minutes it goes straight to penalties.
Wednesday March 15th
AZ are only the second Dutch semi-finalist after Ajax in 2019/20 after the hopes of this season’s winners, who set a record in the seventh quarter-final, ended spectacularly.
The home side were leading after 25 minutes when Daniel Beukers on the ground hooked a loose ball into the goal from a corner. Just four minutes later, Ernest Poku took a diagonal pass from Jayden Addai halfway and advanced into the box to double the lead.
AZ captain Mexx Meerdink rushed for his seventh goal of the season with twelve minutes to go after Real keeper Diego Piñeiro was only able to parry Fedde de Jong’s attempt. Beukers followed up late after breaking free on the left, cutting in and smashing in an angle shot. AZ are the fourth team to reach the finals from their home championship path, after Anderlecht in 2015/16, eventual champions Salzburg in 2016/17 and Chelsea in 2018/19.
- Dortmund are in the quarter-finals for the second time in a row, having made it the first time 12 months ago when they lost 1-0 to Atlético at home in front of 19,300 spectators.
- Hajduk beat Manchester City and reached the first quarterfinals; They are the second Croatian club to reach this stage after Dinamo Zagreb in 2018/19 and 2019/20. Hajduk hopes to be the first Croatian team to reach the semifinals and, like AZ, started the road to the domestic champions.
Tuesday March 14th
A goal from Rodrigo Ribeiro in front of several veteran players and Portugal’s new coach Roberto Martínez sees Sporting through to the final for the first time. There was an early blow against Liverpool when key man Ben Doak was substituted early on with a head injury but the game remained tight.
Sporting broke through in the 65th minute, however, when Rodrigo Ribeiro controlled David Monteiro’s long pass superbly to score his sixth goal of the season. Liverpool had their moments but for the third time they narrowly missed Nyon in the quarter-finals.
Milan had never reached the quarter-finals before this season but are now in the last four. The Italian side were knocked out in the 2021/22 group stage by Atlético, who were in their fifth round of 16 today, but the Spanish team missed out on the semi-finals for the second year in a row and Adrian Niño’s record streak of seven straight Youth League games ended with that he was injured and substituted shortly after Milan made it 2-0.
Dariusz Stalmach scored in the 12th minute, completing a cutback from Adam Bakoune. Atlético, who reached the semi-finals for the first time last season, had chances of their own but it was 2-0 midway through the second half when Gabriele El Hilali’s shot from the angle hit the post and then ricocheted off visiting goalkeeper Alejandro Iturbe.