Champions League Semi-Finals Reactions and Predictions

*DISCLAIMER* ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES

The Champions League gets back underway, and we are now in the semi-final stage where only four teams remain at the chance to be crowned champions of Europe. Today we will analyze both games and predict the winner from each tie. Despite predicting the ties of all four games correctly for the last round out, this round will see two incredibly competitive fixtures where the result can swing either way. 

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester City

PSG vs. Manchester City will, no doubt, be the most mouthwatering tie of the competition thus far. As I alluded to previously, coming into this season, Manchester City was the undeniable favorite to go all the way. However, in recent weeks their form has taken a massive dip. Just this month, they’ve lost to both Leeds and Chelsea. Although they won the FA Cup over Tottenham Hotspur, they simply were not convincing despite dominating large parts of the game. Even in their triumph over Borussia Dortmund in the last round, the blues were far from their best.

PSG is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They started the season with struggles in both the Champions League and Ligue 1. But in recent weeks have turned their season around. To get to this point of the contest, they had to beat both Barcelona and last year’s champions, Bayern Munich. In doing this, they proved that they have what it takes to dismantle high-quality opposition. If Neymar, Mbappe, and Navas perform at their best, there isn’t a team in Europe who can stop them. 

Prediction Paris Saint-Germain 4 – 4 Manchester City (PSG ADVANCE ON AWAY GOALS)

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea

The long-awaited return of club legends Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois. The battle of the two best defensive mids in the game: N’golo Kante and Casemiro. The first clash between french forwards Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud, since Benzema infamously claimed, “You don’t compare Formula 1 with Karting, and I am being nice,” when compared to his French counterpart. This game may not be as monumental as PSG vs. Man City but make no mistake, it will be a thrilling encounter nonetheless. 

Chelsea has continued to thrive under new manager, Thomas Tuchel. They have kept their Champions League hopes for next year strong as they broke into the top 4 in the premier league and still only have one loss since the change in management. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have stuttered in their last few games, giving the advantage to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race. You would feel, however, that Zinedine Zidane and his men would feel more motivated than ever to fight for the champions league, which would more than salvage their La Liga blemishes. It seems as if Real Madrid’s experience will trump Chelsea’s youth at this stage in the competition. And should Madrid advance, we are all well aware of Zidane’s perfect record in finals.

Prediction: Real Madrid 4 – 2 Chelsea