SEMI-FINAL DRAWS
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea
DATES: First legs April 22/23. Second legs April 29/30
We could see a Madrid derby in the final
Yes, we might possibly see the two Madrid sides come face to face in the finals. Diego Simeone’s men have been mightily impressive this season in the competition and are still unbeaten, while Madrid, despite looking shaky themselves against Dortmund in the return leg, could cause Guardiola’s men some worry over two legs.
Mourinho vs Simeone will be interesting
In that moment when Jose Mourinho went sprinting half the length of Stamford Bridge to celebrate Demba Ba’s strike, you could sense the relief. The Portuguese tinker ended the game with all his strikers on the pitch – quite a miracle, as he claimed the week before, that he did not have any. Mourinho is that new generation manager, that will analyse and take necessary risks. Simeone is not stuck in the past either and his side have a similar pattern to Chelsea. This will be an interesting tie.
Flying wingers for Lisbon
In the Madrid team, we have the twin demons in Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bayern boasts of their own wing wizards in Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. One fascinating thing about the four teams left in the competition, is that none of them will pass for ages. They retain their defensive shape and launch counter-attacks at break-neck speed. When these two European giants meet, expect any of the four wingers to make the difference.
Can UEFA cut down on the pageantry?
It seems Gianni Infantino lives for those days when UEFA conduct draws. The shiny-headed man takes all the time in the world to talk, interview, cue in and cue out. It’s incredible. And today, he had just eight balls to pick out for both competitions. it took an eternity!
Kommentare