The week of Apr. 17 saw the conclusion of the quarterfinals in this season’s UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League. Eight of the best teams in the world all sought to take the next step toward winning club soccer’s most coveted prize. Entering the second leg of their respective ties, two matchups looked to be more or less settled, while the other pair of games appeared perched on a knife edge. Real Madrid put in a convincing home display to dispatch Chelsea 2-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, while Manchester City comprehensively dismantled German champions Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium. Real Madrid held a 2-0 lead over Chelsea, but the score did not reflect the flow of the first leg match and Chelsea was predicted to provide a real threat at home. Inter Milan returned to home with a 2-0 lead of their own, but Benfica consistently looked to be the most dangerous attacking side in Europe, meaning the Milanese were still very much sweating.
The games lived up to the hype. In Germany, Bayern Munich and Manchester City drew 1-1 in a fantastic end-to-end match. Both sides love to press high and play on the counter attack, which meant it was no surprise when Leroy Sane got in behind inside the opening 10 minutes for the German team, only to put his shot wide of the post. Moments later, Erling Haaland found himself in behind the Bayern back line before Dayot Upamecano scythed him down from behind and received a red card-only for the decision to be reversed as Haaland had been offside. As the half came to a close, Upamecano once again became the center of attention, committing a hand ball inside his own box to give away a penalty which Haaland blazed over the crossbar to leave the score inexplicably at 0-0. But Haaland would not be denied, and ten minutes into the second half, he beat his man on a City counter before smashing the ball beyond goalkeeper Yann Sommer to all but kill the game. Bayern pulled one back in the 83rd minute, but it was too little too late. City advanced to the semifinal.
In London, Chelsea did indeed present quite the threat to Real Madrid’s quest to retain their European title. However, they also seemed to be allergic to scoring goals, which is problematic when trying to win a match. N’golo Kante missed a sitter in the opening minutes, before Marc Cucurella also blew a golden opportunity early in the match. Real were far less wasteful. They weathered the storm for the first 56 minutes before stealing a goal, putting the game to bed and snagging a second in the 79th to cruise into the next round.
The most intriguing matchup of the quarterfinal round was without doubt Inter Milan vs. Benfica. Nicolo Barella scored a fantastic curling effort just 13 minutes into the match to settle Inter fans’ nerves, but Benfica stole one back at the end of the half to give themselves a chance. Inter went on the offensive again in the second period, scoring again through Lautauro Martinez and Joaquin Correa to put themselves into a 5-1 aggregate lead. Credit is due to Benfica as the Portuguese side as they scored a pair of late goals to save a draw on the night, but Inter progress 5-3.
The final matchup saw AC Milan travel to the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona to take on Serie A leaders and heavy favorites Napoli. Milan had snuck out of the first leg with a narrow 1-0 lead thanks to Rafael Leao, but Napoli looked to be the far more dangerous side. Milan was awarded an early penalty, only for Olivier Giroud to spurn the opportunity and have it saved by the Napoli goalkeeper. He made up for his error by netting in the 43rd minute after a slaloming run by Leao who laid it on a plate for the striker. Napoli was handed a golden opportunity to pull a goal back in the 82nd minute, but Kvicha Kvaratskhelia had his shot saved by Mike Maignan. Victor Osimhen stole a late consolation goal for Napoli in the 95th minute, but it was too little too late; Milan was through.
The semifinals will see Real Madrid and Manchester City clash for the second year running, while a Milan Derby on the other side of the bracket will mean a first Italian side will make the Champions League final for the first time since 2017.