A Semi-Final special! Coverage of all 6 Semi-Finals in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League
And so, the Semi-Finals have arrived. Teams in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League are just one round away from the Final, in touching distance to the trophy. For some, this feels like a routine and the expectation is there to go all the way. However, for others, it has been a long time since reaching these heights, and better yet we have some teams who have never made it this far and are making history! The 1st Legs await, who will get their noses in front?
Not sure who to take a punt on? Then read our preview and place your bets wisely!
Contents:
- UEFA Champions League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Real Madrid vs Manchester City
- UEFA Champions League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Milan vs Inter
- UEFA Europa League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen
- UEFA Europa League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Juventus vs Sevilla
- UEFA Europa Conference League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – West Ham vs AZ
- UEFA Europa Conference League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Fiorentina vs Basel
UEFA Champions League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Real Madrid vs Manchester City
A team that holds the most UEFA Champions League titles (14), against a team that has still never won it. Real Madrid, the reigning champions following last year’s triumph, will have very fond memories of this opponent from that successful campaign. After all, these two sides faced off in the very same round (Semi-Final) last year, where los Blancos pulled off a miraculous comeback, seemingly eliminated with mere minutes remaining in the match before Carlo Ancelotti’s men scored twice, eventually winning in extra time to reach the Final. It was part of a run where Real Madrid dominated English opposition, beating 3 Premier League teams in that UCL campaign last year and, remarkably, this new season will see them facing the exact same opponents. Liverpool and Chelsea have already been despatched in consecutive seasons, and now Man City await. In just 2 seasons, Real Madrid are on a streak of eliminating English opposition in knockout rounds on 5 occasions.
Could Man City prevent that from becoming 6? Pep Guardiola’s men will certainly have vengeance on their mind, especially since that heart-breaking Semi-Final defeat last year prevented them from reaching the Final and having a shot at FINALLY winning the Champions League. The wait goes on but, given the immense form of the Citizens this season, there’s every possibility that this will be their year. They are the only team still to hold an unbeaten record in the UCL this season, they are the top scorers (26, 1 ahead of Real Madrid), 12 of which have come in the last 2 rounds against strong German opposition in Leipzig and Bayern Munich. The goalscoring threat has never been in doubt (City have scored 138 goals in all competitions this season), but they will need to be at their best to break down a Real Madrid defence that has kept 3 consecutive clean sheets in the competition. To their benefit, the crucial 2nd Leg will be at City’s home, the toughest test comes at the Bernabeu this week!
UEFA Champions League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Milan vs Inter
For the football purists, this is a dream Champions League Semi-Final. The two titans of the city of Milan, a total of 10 UCL titles between them (Milan 7, Inter 3), and they will play two legs in their shared cathedral of the San Siro to battle it out for a place in the Final. Two sleeping giants, bereft of European glory for many years, this is their chance for revival!
Milan haven’t reached a Champions League Semi-Final since 2006-07, a season that brought fantastic memories to the Rossoneri (they eventually were crowned champions), and how they’d love to achieve that here. There is still some way to go, however, navigating past your bitter rivals will be a mightily tough task not least given that Stefano Pioli’s men have not had the bragging rights in the city recently: after winning the first Derby della Madonnina of the season 3-2, Milan have lost the following 2. If they want to get back on top over their neighbours, the first priority will be to stop Inter scoring and, luckily for the Rossoneri, this meeting comes at a time when they’ve really been showing their defensive strengths in the competition: Milan have earned 5 clean sheets in their last 6 Champions League matches, one of which came in the previous round against new Italian champions Napoli. Can they do it against their hated rivals?
This Semi-Final will be both the 4th and 5th Derby della Madonnina of this season and, as mentioned, Inter are the ones to have the better recent head-to-head record. They’ve won 3 of the last 4 meetings against Milan (losing the other), with clean sheets coming in all of those victories. We mention Milan’s defensive strength in the UCL this year but, in a typical style of trying to “one-up” your neighbours, Inter have celebrated more clean sheets in the competition this year. A total of 6 so far for the Nerazzurri is the highest amongst teams that still remain in the Champions League, and that defensive strength has seemed to spill into other competitions. A total of 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches in all competitions whilst scoring 15 themselves from these has seen them reach the Coppa Italia Final, and also put them into the Top 4 of Serie A. They’re currently 1 place above Milan (5th) in the standings, but nobody will be caring about the league at the moment. For both these teams, all that matters now is this match in the Champions League.
UEFA Europa League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen
Another Italian team in a European Semi-Final, this time it’s Roma in the UEFA Europa League. After being crowned champions of the inaugural Europa Conference League last season, José Mourinho sets his sights on silverware in the next level up of European football. Let’s not forget, they tried to do this two years ago: Roma reached this stage in the 2020-21 season, meaning this is their third consecutive year in a European Semi-Final, but that particular Europa League run two years ago came to an end at this round. This impressive stretch does mean that Roma have won 10 of their last 11 European knockout rounds, but it remains to be seen if they can extend that further against Bayer Leverkusen, an opponent that brings an even head-to-head record with Roma: 1 win each and 2 draws in their 4 previous encounters. The most recent? A 2015 Champions League group stage win for the Giallorossi who’d love a repeat of that here, especially since the 1st Leg is in their own home!
That does mean the crucial 2nd Leg will be played at Bayer Leverkusen’s home, a big advantage for Xabi Alonso’s men who will aim to frustrate Roma here in the Italian capital this week. The arrival of the Spanish manager this season has been a revelation for die Werkself, Alonso taking Leverkusen to their 4th European Semi-Final and a chance to add to the trophy cabinet that includes this very trophy from 1987-88. Playing in this competition wasn’t entirely the expectation of the staff and players, they started the season in the UEFA Champions League before finishing 3rd in their group, dropping them into the Europa League where they’ve only lost 1 of their 6 matches (won 4, drawn 1). Curiously, and perhaps encouragingly, Leverkusen have won all 3 of their away games in the Europa League this season, can they strike fear into the Roma team in this 1st Leg in Italy?
UEFA Europa League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Juventus vs Sevilla
It’s been a great year in European competitions for Italian teams. Juventus are 1 of 5 teams from the bel paese to make a European Semi-Final this season (out of the 3 competitions available), but Massimiliano Allegri will be aiming to take his team far beyond the Semis, and go all the way in the Europa League here. After a season that seemed lifeless just a few months ago, an upturn in form helped by the removal of their Serie A points deduction has given the Bianconeri something to fight for: they’re now 2nd in Serie A, battling for the Top 4 and Champions League qualification next season, and of course have this Europa League Semi-Final up next against Sevilla. In European competitions, Juve remain unbeaten at home against this opponent (won 1, drawn 1) but both of those encounters came in the Champions League. In the Europa League, everyone knows that Sevilla are a totally different beast.
Some things just seem to work perfectly together, and that’s exactly the case with the Europa League and Sevilla. Los Nervionenses have won this competition more than anyone (6 times, twice more than anyone else), which includes becoming champions in 4 of the last 7 editions. Perhaps the most remarkable of ones is yet to come, let’s not forget that for large parts of this season the Andalusian side have been battling against LaLiga relegation, but here they are still performing brilliantly in the Europa League. Now, seemingly safe in LaLiga, all priorities for José Luis Mendilibar can be shifted to the UEL where they’ll attempt to continue what is an impressive record against teams from Italy: Sevilla have won all of their last 6 matches in the Europa League when facing Italian opponents. This competition is their speciality, can they go all the way again?
UEFA Europa Conference League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – West Ham vs AZ
Back-to-back European Semi-Final appearances for West Ham but, whilst last season was in the higher level of Europa League football, the Hammers will certainly be delighted to have the chance of another Semi here, this time in the UEFA Europa Conference League. After all, they lost in that UEL Semi last season, so the wait goes on for them to reach a European final for the first time since 1975-76. Could it be this season? If they do, it will be largely thanks to their defence, just 6 goals conceded in their 10 UECL games so far, and there’s no problems at the other end of the pitch either: 24 goals scored is the 2nd-highest in the competition. With the 1st game at home, they need more goals here.
AZ have reached their 3rd European Semi-Final here, but have never managed to go on to lift a continental trophy (UEFA Cup runners-up 1980-81, UEFA Cup Semi-Final elimination 2004-05). To reach a Semi-Final is a fantastic achievement for the Kaaskoppen, but let’s not forget European silverware has already been achieved this season: the youth team of AZ were crowned champions of the UEFA Youth League last month (the Champions League for youth teams), so the future is certainly bright for the Alkmaar side. Perhaps the youth players have given motivation to the senior squad, and Pascal Jansen’s men will do everything they can to get past West Ham. If they do, it might be through Vangelis Pavlidis: AZ’s top scorer this season (22 goals in 35 games), he has scored 5 of the team’s last 7 goals in this competition.
UEFA Europa Conference League – Semi-Final – 1st Leg – Fiorentina vs Basel
As mentioned earlier, out of the 12 teams to qualify for the Semi-Finals of these 3 European competitions, 5 come from Italy. Last but not least, it’s Fiorentina, reaching their 8th European Semi-Final, but they haven’t managed to get past this stage and reach a Final since 1989-90. Albeit only in the Europa Conference League, this is a fantastic chance for the Viola, they’ve been far and away the standout club in this competition, 32 goals scored is the most by a long way (next best is West Ham with 24) with Arthur Cabral, Fiorentina’s striker that formerly played at Basel for 3 years, being the joint-top scorer in the UECL this season with 6 goals, alongside striking partner Luka Jović. They score for fun, can Basel stop them?
Basel have reached a European Semi-Final for only the 2nd time in their history, previously doing so in the 2012-13 Europa League (lost in Semis), and so are still trying to become the first Swiss side to reach a European Final. Whilst these teams have rarely met previously, the H2H record does go in favour of the RotBlau, winning 1 and drawing 1 from the 2 prior meetings, but they know this time against a free-scoring Fiorentina will be even tougher. Basel do have a striking threat of their own, however, forward Zeki Amdouni is the joint-top scorer in the UECL when it comes to exclusively the knockout stages (5 goals, joint with Arthur Cabral), who will be desperate to add to his tally here away from home, before the crucial 2nd Leg in their own stadium next week!