The UEFA Champions League Semi-Final kicks off on Tuesday night (Wednesday midnight for Indian fans). The 4 contenders who will be a part of the final elimination stage would be- Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain. The semi-final fixtures are as follows:
27th April- Real Madrid vs Chelsea (28th April 12:30am for Indian fans)
28th April- Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester City (29th April 12:30am for Indian fans)
4th May- Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain (5th May 12:30am for Indian fans)
5th May- Chelsea vs Real Madrid (6th May 12:30 am for Indian fans)
The winner of Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester City and Real Madrid/Chelsea over the two legs will face each other in the mega finale scheduled on 29th May (30th May 12:30 am in India)
Now we will analyze both the fixtures:
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Real Madrid conquered the quarter final by defeating Liverpool with an aggregate score of 3-1 whereas Chelsea booked their semi final berth by defeating Portugal’s FC Porto with an aggregate score of 2-1. Real Madrid must be disappointed after a goalless draw against Real Betis, whereas Chelsea will be boosted with confidence after defeating West Ham with a score of 1-0, keeping their 16th clean sheet under new manager Thomas Tuchel. This also makes them a little comfortable in the top 4 race. After the whole European Super League conundrum, this match has become a little personal for Real Madrid president Florentio Perez as Chelsea was one of the first clubs to back out from the tournament, which was headed by him. This controversy has added extra spice to this match. Players to watch out for:
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)- The winger was in excellent form against Liverpool in the quarter final of the tournament and played a very important role in their win against the English champions. His attack from the left side made a mockery of Liverpool’s defence which already looks weak without their star player Virgil Van Djik.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)- The 33 year old French striker has been in the form of his life and could be a major threat to Chelsea. It will be interesting to see whether he can break the current Chelsea defence which has been excellent under manage Thomas Tuchel. Benzema has scored 21 goals in La Liga ad 5 in the Champions League.
Mason Mount (Chelsea)- The Chelsea midfielder has been a very exciting prospect and has time and again given match winning performances. We will not be surprised if he steps up again on the big stage and help Chelsea reach the final of this prestigious tournament after 9 long years.
Paris Saint-Germain Vs Manchester City
Paris Saint-Germain or PSG stormed in the semi-finals after defeating the mighty Bayern Munich who were also the defending champions. The French club has looked under excellent shape under new manager Mauricio Pochettino and they can surely give Guardiola’s team one difficult battle to conquer. PSG would be more determined than ever as they were runners up of the tournament in the previous season and would want to convert that into winners this season. For that they need to pass the mighty test of Pep Guardiola’s team who are in excellent form currently. Manchester City, on the other hand have been very impressive as always and are high on confidence after securing their first title of the season on Sunday. They defeated Tottenham Hotspur to win the Carabao Cup. With the Premier League almost secured for Manchester City, the club would want to do a treble, the first in the club’s history and for that they need to win the UEFA Champions League. Both the teams are dominated by excellent attacking qualities and should be an excellent set of matches for the fans. Players to watch out for:
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)- The French wonderkid has never been out of form and continues his excellent run this season as well. Striking upfront with the supplies from Neyamr, Angel Di Maria and other excellent players, he sure will cause trouble to the City defence. He already has 25 Ligue 1 goals accompanied by 8 UCL goals.
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)- The Manchester City Centre Back is one of the major reasons for the excellent record this team has defensively. Ruben Dias has been a wall at the back and will play an extremely important role to stop the PSG attack which is filled with a lot of quality.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)- Kevin De Bruyne or KDB needs no introduction. The majestic midfielder has also been in great from this season and his passing has been top class like every season. City would need KDB’s vision and passing accuracies in the heart of attack in order to break the PSG defence which has the presence of excellent players such as Marquinhos and Kimpembe.
Written by: Aditya Paharia
