Are we about to witness a new 100% English Champions League final? After Chelsea’s victory against Manchester City last year (1-0) and that of Liverpool against Tottenham in 2019 (2-0), everything suggests that the duel in the final, played on May 28 at the Stade de France, will see the Cityzens and the Reds compete. The two teams, coached by Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp and who met last weekend (2-2) in the Premier League, are the ones that impress the most.
But before considering this poster, Manchester City and Liverpool will have to pass the semi-finals. After their qualification, Wednesday April 13, at the expense respectively of Atlético de Madrid and Benfica, the two English clubs joined, in the last four of the competition, the two Spanish clubs, Villarreal and Real Madrid, already qualified since Tuesday evening. Dynamics already seem perceptible even before the first legs (April 26-27) of these Anglo-Spanish semi-finals.
Manchester City on pole against Real?
Real Madrid may have the future Ballon d’Or in its team with Karim Benzema, but the Madrid club remembered on Tuesday evening that it was not necessarily enough to win the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti’s players shook to the end against Chelsea and can thank their French striker for qualifying in extra time.
After having eliminated the Blues, defending champions of the competition, the people of Madrid will this time have to wrestle with the finalist of the last edition. And this season, Manchester City looks a lot better than Chelsea. So much so that Real are starting a long way behind City, as the Madrid club have shown signs of feverishness on several occasions this season. Are we heading towards the same scenario as the round of 16 two seasons ago, when the Cityzens had mastered Real both out and back?
Manchester City, in fact, have the best defense of the five major European championships and proved it by resisting Atlético de Madrid on Wednesday. The English club seems to be on point after several years of forging a team ready to win in C1. This double confrontation will also offer an interesting duel between Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.
The last time the two managers met in the Champions League, Ancelotti’s Real Madrid crushed Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the 2013-14 semi-finals. Eleven years after his last success in C1, Guardiola is ready to end this scarcity. Another game in the match will follow: the one between Kevin de Bruyne and Karim Benzema, which could be decisive in the race for the Ballon d’Or.
Liverpool favorite but wary of Villarreal
Villarreal have shown in the previous two rounds that they don’t need to receive in the second leg. But there is no doubt that the Spanish club will be happy to host the semi-final return against Liverpool. Because at first sight, this duel seems unbalanced. The steamroller established by Jürgen Klopp certainly came up against Benfica in the return match (3-3), but remains a more than credible candidate for the final title after winning the 2019 edition.
But the Reds will face an unsinkable Yellow Submarine. Only 7th in La Liga, far from qualifying places for the next European cups, Villarreal shines in C1 and has just eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich in quick succession. Two double confrontations before which the majority of observers saw Villarreal being eliminated. Trained by Unai Emery, the former coach of PSG (2016-2018), the Spanish club has made a specialty of knocking down the big guys this season.
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After winning the Europa League last year in the final against Manchester United, the Yellow Submarine would see himself achieving a new feat against the Reds and reaching the Champions League final for the first time in his history. Liverpool will therefore have to be wary, but Klopp’s team will have the experience of these major European meetings on their side.