Champions League semi-finals

The most prestigious competition in club football Champions League has reached the semi-final stage. Four big European clubs remain in the race for the trophy, among them is one club who has surprised a lot of football fans this season. Climbing their way up to the French Ligue-1 just a few years back from now, AS Monaco FC has shown great talent and willpower by reaching the semi-finals this season, already eliminating two big clubs from the competition in the playoffs so far. Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund were no matches for the Monegasques who scored a combined amount of six goals in the first and second legs against both teams. Scoring as many goals as Barcelona this season, Europe`s top scorers Monaco has shown us some very entertaining football throughout the season, and they should be considered as a serious contender for the Champions League title.

AS Monaco has an opportunity to be in the UEFA CL final once again after 2004.

Monaco is up against former two time champion, The Old Lady, Juventus in the semi-final. The Italian defensive approach to football is known worldwide, and Juventus is no exception with their excellent defending, holding the defensive lines more or less perfectly game after the game giving very little if any room for the opponents to play the ball forward. Juve`s veteran Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has won almost everything except the Champions League title during his career which stretches over two decades now has to stop Monaco`s hot forwards Radamel Falcao and young superstar Kylian Mbappè in order to get the missing piece of silverware to his collection. This match-pair will be interesting to follow, Monaco`s attack versus Juve`s defense battling for a place in the Cardiff final. 

Madrid derby, as Real Madrid reaches the semi-final stage of the competition for the seventh consecutive time and will be facing fellow city rivals Club Atlètico de Madrid. These two Spanish clubs met in the final last season, Real Madrid winning their eleventh title after a penalty shootout. Looking at the history of these clubs previous meetings in the Champions League, Real Madrid being the reigning champions of the competition can easily be considered a favourite for this match-pair. Despite being criticised, Los Blancos has only lost five games since former French striker Zinèdine Zidane took over the reins as Manager of the Madrid club in January 2016. In big games like this, Real Madrid has shown their capability to get needed results with the help of players such as Sergio Ramos, who has scored ten goals this season as a Centerback including the header against Napoli that eliminated the Italians from the competition in the first play-off round. Slowly recovering from his knee injury he got in the European Championship final last summer, Portuguese striker Christiano Ronaldo erased all doubts regarding his form this season netting a hat-trick and becoming the first centurion with his 100 Champions League goals as Real Madrid knocked out Bayern Munchen in the quarter-finals. 

Atlètico who has never won the title although being runner-ups three times in the competition reaches the semi-finals for the third time in four years, which is a great achievement for Diego Simeone`s squad. French striker Antoine Griezmann scored for Atlètico in the Madrid Derby earlier this month in a tied game at Estadio Santiago Bernabèu, can he do it again in the semi-finals?

Both Madrid teams defend well and are very effective at counter attacks, this matched pair is not short of speed and intensity.

The first legs of the semi-finals are played on the second of May and the third of May, the second legs one week later. 

Which team will lift the trophy in Cardiff this June?