How to escape apostrophe in php variable for select query

i have tried escaping the qurey string and the $variable containing the apostrophe using the mysqli_real_escape_string the variable value is coming form the database. i am getting the following error.

You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your 
MySQL server version for the right syntax to use 
near '\'Shamrock Rovers%\' AND away_team like \'St Patrick's Athletic%\'' at line 1

the apostrophe is not geiiting escaped byt the quotes around the comparison vales is.

here is the query as it appers in the PHP file:

    $homeTeam = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'homeTeam', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
    $homePlayers = "select * from players where team_name like $homeTeam";
    $homePlayers = mysqli_real_escape_string($dbc, $homePlayers);
    $homePlayersResult = mysqli_query($dbc, $homePlayers);

And echoed out to the browser:

    select * from players where team_name like Shamrock Rovers

I have tried it a number of different ways with no variation in results i feel i am overlooking something simple. Thanks in advance.