The UEFA Champions League semifinal line ups have been announced. Two of the UCL favorites, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have been pitted against each other,meaning one of them won’t be seen in the finals.
While Chelsea and Atletico Madrid would be locking horns with each other in the other semi finals.
The winners of the semi finals will compete against each other in the grand final hosted by Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon on 24th May.
Schedule
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich : 23 & 29 April
Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea : 22 & 30 April
Preview
Defending Champions and five times champion Bayern Munich who have kicked out Manchester United would be facing another tough team Real Madrid who are looking for their tenth European crown. Bayern has a better record against Real Madrid and they will be looking to improve it further. Battling against the Madrid side won’t be new for Bayern boss Pep Guardiola as he has seen many battles against Real Madrid during his stay with Barcelona. With Pep enforcing his passing and possession game in Bayern Munich, the match maybe reminiscence of many of the el classico clashes. The star studded semi final would see players like Ronaldo, Bale, Muller, Gotze, Neuer together.
Jose Mourinho has yet again steered his team, this time Chelsea, in another Champions League semifinals. They have made an impressive come back after being defeated by PSG in the first leg. However, they will face the energy packed and fast improving Atletico Madrid, another Madrid team who made it to the Champions League semi finals, following a surprise win against traditional heavy-weights, Barcelona. Atletico Madrid had achieved the feat without their star striker Diego Costa, and would be hoping that he will be available for this clash. Atletico, in recent times, have defeated Chelsea in 2012 UEFA Super Cup with an embarrassing scoreline of 4-1.
UEFA Europa League semi finals
The draw for Europa has also been announced, revealing Italian giants Juventus to play against Benfica whereas Valencia and Sevilla will play in an all Spanish semi final.
Juventus has defeated Lyon, whereas as Benfica had won against AZ Alkmaar in a convincing manner. The Spanish teams however, needed second leg heroics to seal their spot in the semi finals.
Sevilla, after losing 0-1 to Porto in the first leg, thrashed them 4-1 in the second leg. Valencia however made history after after reversing the first leg loss of 0-3 against Basel with a 5-0 win the second leg, which included two goals in the extra time.
