The Champions League quarter finals are now in the history books and we now know that there will be two English teams and two Spanish contesting the two semi-finals.
Liverpool and Manchester City came through their respective quarterfinal ties, while Real Madrid and Villarreal did likewise to reach the final four.
In this article, we are going to take a quick look back at how the four quarterfinal ties panned out, before we look ahead to the semi-final games coming up at the end of April and in early May.
Any odds shown in the article are taken from bet365 Sport and were correct at the time of writing, but may have changed in the meantime.
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Let’s begin with a quick recap of how the four quarter final ties played out.
Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg Results
Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea (AET – Real Madrid win 5-4 on aggregate)
In what was undeniably the most dramatic tie of the round, Real Madrid scraped through into the semifinals after a fine comeback against a rampant Chelsea side who had threatened to cause a massive upset with an unexpected comeback win.
Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, the Londoners started this game much more brightly and deservedly took the lead in the first half with Mason Mount’s cool finish.
The game stayed 1-0 until the interval and then early in the second half, Antonio Rudiger’s header put Chelsea 2-0 up and made the tie 3-3 on aggregate. Real by this point were clearly rattled and the home fans anxiety was clear.
Marcos Alonso thought he’d put Chelsea 3-0 up, only for the goal to be disallowed for a hand ball, but a few minutes later Timo Werner did score to put Chelsea in front, 3-0 on the night and crucially, 4-3 in the tie.
Real were 10 minutes or so from elimination when Luka Modric’s beautiful outside of the foot pass put substitute Rodrygo in to finish and bring the home side level in the tie.
Extra time ensued and in the first half of the extra period, Vinicius Jr got clear down the Chelsea right and crossed for Benzema to head home to put Real back in front and it was this goal that clinched Real’s place in the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Villarreal (Villarreal win 2-1 on aggregate)
If the first game on Tuesday provided the most drama, it was the other game which provide the biggest upset in the Champions League this week as Villarreal stunned Bayern Munich with a late equaliser on the night to win the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
After a first half that saw opportunities for both teams, but none taken, the German side went in front early in the second period when Robert Lewandowski scored.
However, with the tie now level, as Bayern pushed to get the goal to claim the win, Villarreal started to create opportunities on the counter against the Germans and it was just such an attack in the 88th minute that proved crucial.
It was substitute Chukwueze who scored the crucial goal as he got on the end of Moreno’s pass to slot the ball past Neuer and bring Villarreal level on the night and ahead in the tie.
With so little time in the game remaining, Bayern could not find a leveller and it was the Spanish side who defied expectations to reach the semifinals.
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Manchester City (Manchester City win 1-0 on aggregate)
The most combative game of the Champions League quarterfinals came at the Wanda Metropolitano where Atletico Madrid’s spoiling tactics nullified Manchester City for most of the game but also nullified their attacking threat for the most part.
Atletico are never an easy watch in these games but their attempts to put City out of their stride were working and as the game wore on with no goals scored, slowly the Spanish side began to gain some semblance of control.
Despite that, City held out strongly defensively with John Stones in particularly good form and at the end of the game, there were hugely controversial scenes as Atletico’s frustrations boiled over, seeing them embroiled in an on-field melee with City and also seeing defender Felipe sent off in the latter stages of the game.
That late onslaught from Atletico was held off by City and at the end of the game City held on to claim the aggregate win, although there were reports of more scuffles from inside the tunnel.
Liverpool 3-3 Benfica (Liverpool win 6-4 on aggregate)
Liverpool moved into the semifinals on the back of a 3-3 draw at Anfield in an entertaining game between the two teams, and one in which Benfica certainly did not disgrace themselves.
The Reds named a much-changed team for this game, with several first teamers rested for the game including three of the usual back four, plus Salah, Mane and Fabinho but it didn’t look too problematic for Liverpool when they went in front through an Ibrahima Konate header.
However, Benfica struck back ten minutes later to make the game 1-1 and reduce the deficit to two goals.
In the second half, Roberto Firmino was the man for Liverpool, scoring twice inside ten minutes to put the Reds 3-1 up on the night and all but confirm their place in the semifinals.
However, Benfica pulled two goals back through Yaremchuk and the excellent Nunez to claim a draw on the night even though it was in vain.
Champions League Semi Final Ties
Tuesday 26th April
- Manchester City v Real Madrid
Wednesday 27th April
- Liverpool v Villarreal
Tuesday 3rd May
- Villarreal v Liverpool
Wednesday 4th May
- Real Madrid v Manchester City
Game Previews
Manchester City v Real Madrid
In the six previous meetings between these two teams, it is a perfectly even record. City and Madrid have two wins apiece, with two other games seeing draws.
The most recent game between the two came in 2020, with City winning both home and away 2-1 and Pep Guardiola’s team are the favourites to come through this tie at 4/11 with bet365, with Real Madrid 2/1 to make it into the final.
This is certainly going to be a very interesting match up between two teams who will feel they have a genuine chance of success in this competition if they reach the final.
Liverpool v Villarreal
The second semi sees underdogs Villarreal face off against Liverpool, who are now the 5/4 co-favourites with Manchester City to win the Champions League trophy with bet365 Sport.
The teams have met twice before, in the semifinal of the Europa League in 2016, when Villarreal won 1-0 in the first leg in Spain, but were then beaten 3-0 in the second leg at Anfield.
The Spaniards are no pushovers having knocked out Juventus and Bayern Munich to reach this stage of the tournament, but they will be the second favourites once again here against a Liverpool side who could still win four competitions this season.
The Reds are 1/7 to qualify for the final, while Villarreal are 9/2 and you just know that the Spanish side are going to enjoy being the rank outsider in this game.
Join us nearer the first leg of the semifinals in a couple of weeks for a more up to date preview of both games.
