E Pluribus Unum : The Champions League Semi-Final Preview
The time has come for the penultimate stage of Europe's ultimate stage. The Champions League semi-finals have broken teams before
E pluribus unum, out of many, one. 78 teams have taken part in this season’s edition of the UEFA Champions League, from the first qualifying stage up until now that number has been reduced to just four. In the most varied field of recent memory, we have record champions and those still seeking their first taste of the big-eared prize. Historical institutions and new-money superteams. Unstoppable tactical innovation vs immovable vibes. This is what the competition is about.
Without further ado, let’s look at the two semi-final matchups, how we got here and what they might have in store for us?
Milan vs Internazionale
The second of our two semi-finals, but first in my heart, the all-Italian affair between the two jewels of Milanese football. The 236th and 237th editions of the Derby della Madonnina promise to be fought on fine margins. How did we get to this point?
Inter’s journey to the semi-finals saw them looking west, and facing off against four former winners of this tournament. Group stage victories against Viktoria Plzen (x2) and Barcelona were enough to see last year’s Serie A runners-up advance to the knockout stages despite a pair of losses to Bayern Munich.
The round-of-16 saw them earn (emphasis on the word earn) a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate win over Porto. The quarter-finals saw them return to the Iberian peninsula to face Benfica in an altogether more exciting affair. a 5-3 aggregate scoreline saw the Nerazzuri beat a hotly-tipped Benfica side with plenty of firepower. The most pleasing part of the tie will have been that Inter were able to score at all, something they have struggled with at times this season.
It helps that Inter are coming into form at the exact right moment this season. Romelu Lukaku, who has frustrated at times this season, is looking more and more like the talisman they re-signed him to be. Three goals and three assists in his last four games, most of which came against top-of-the-table opposition (Lazio and Roma), have Lukaku cutting the silhouette of a confident man once more.
The whole team is looking better at the same time as the Belgian. Five wins and a draw in their last six games, including 18 goals and four clean sheets (Roma, Hellas Verona, Juventus and Empoli) mean that the club are approaching this tie in as good a patch of form as they are likely to have been in. They seem a far cry from the Inter side who I worried about the defensive capabilities of prior to the Benfica tie.
Milan had a different, but no less difficult route to the semi-finals. Drawn against Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb, had it not been for the seriousness of the latter two teams, Milan would not have made it through. The Rossoneri held five goals across two games from Chelsea with none scored for themselves. Although they beat up on Salzburg and Zagreb, it was looking shaky there for a second.
Much like their cross-town rivals, Milan had to grind out a 1-0 aggregate scoreline in the round-of-16, in this case against Tottenham Hotspur. With a makeshift defence of Malick Thiaw, Pierre Kalulu, Simon Kjaer, and Ciprian Tătăruşanu between the sticks, manager Stefano Pioli’s defensive organisation shone through over the two legs. Although they arguably struck it lucky coming up against an Osimhen-less Napoli side in the quarters, the Neapolitans were no less a dangerous prospect.
A somewhat unexpected star in those two ties against Spurs was Malick Thiaw. The 21-year-old German had been putting in some quietly impressive cameos through the season but rose to the occasion against the Spurs front line. Since then he’s been a near mainstay in a much-improved Milan defence. Coinciding with the returns of Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori to the side, Thiaw could disrupt Inter’s resurgent attack
Major Battles
Whatever happens, Lautaro Martinez will probably have a say. The Argentine has scored 7 goals against his local rivals, more than the likes of Diego Milito and Filippo Inzaghi. Although he gets a lot of flak online for his perceived profligacy on front of goal, the World Cup winner seems to relish derby games at the San Siro more than anyone in blue or red these days.
Lautaro has still scored 23 goals (with nine assists) this season. He two has four goals and two assists in his last three games. Alongside Lukaku the pair will cause trouble for every Serie A side, not least their city rivals.
What those two will come up against though would be a tough prospect for any European attack to break down. The aforementioned Kjaer, Tomori and Maignan, alongside Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez, make up a fearsome defensive unit. Maignan can probably lay claim to the title of being the world’s best goalkeeper, or at least in the top-3.
Fikayo Tomori is a strong, proactive presence who has excelled in Serie A’s more defensive environment. Calabria is finally evolving into the player he looked like he might be all those years ago and Theo Hernandez is Europe’s premier attacking left-back. It will be a lot to ask for Inter’s central attackers, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Çalhanoğluto feed Lukaku and Lautaro with these in the way, and the industrious pair of Bennacer and Tonali patrolling the midfield.
Inter might then have better luck getting the ball wide via the excellent Federico Dimarco, and the also there Denzel Dumfries. Dumfries is quick and picks up good positions in the opponent’s box, so he will be able to get in behind Theo on the counter, but lacks a lot of the necessary technical ability to make good on those chances. It’s a toss-up.
So far this season in the derby stakes it’s been 2-1 to Inter. Though Milan beat them 3-2 early in the season, the Nerazzuri have won the last two meetings, including trouncing their rivals in the Supercoppa Italiana 3-0. For my part, I think the result will be closer to their latest meeting, a 1-0 Inter victory in January. I won’t expect goals but if anyone is going to score them then right now it will be Inter. Milan’s attack has been typified by the persistent struggles from the likes of Charles De Ketelaere. Brahim Diaz is mercurial at best and Rafael Leao, whilst amongst Europe’s best, cannot shoulder the burden alone.
For me, it will be Inter, who will advance to their sixth final in the competition. As for who they will face….
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
The unstoppable tide of history is knocking on the door of the Champions League once again. Nouveau riche vs older than old money. The evil empire vs the evil-er empire in a repeat of last year’s blockbuster semi-final.
The teams, much like the leagues around them, have changed since they last played, but the might on offer is much similar. What’s changed since this time last year?
Manchester City’s metamorphosis over the last seen has been in some places large, blonde and robotic, whilst in others more subtle. They are, though, still a relentless winning machine.
The sky blues went unbeaten in the group stage, and swept through the knockouts in similar fashion. They swept past their German opponents RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich by a combined score of 12-2 over the four knockout games. Perennial champions Bayern, although in a down year, were dismantled in a result that set an ominous tone for the rest of the tournament’s sides. It’s easy to talk about who the focus has been on here.
Erling Haaland is, of course, inevitable. It wouldn’t do me any good to quote how many goals the big Norse bastard has scored this year cos he’ll have scored another one by the time I publish this. Haaland has scored 12 Champions League goals in 576 minutes. More goals in fewer minutes than the next four best scorers. His movement off the ball is elite, as is his ball-striking technique from all angles. He is absurd.
John Stones is another being recognised this season as being among the best in his position in the world. The England CB is almost prophetic in his reading of the game. His ability on the ball is nearly unmatched in the Premier League too. Stones can step into midfield comfortably, switch the play or carry it further himself. The dynamic between himself and Rodri is that which Pep has built a monster.
Real Madrid’s path to this point was almost equally as easy. A solitary shock loss to RB Leipzig in the group stages was unable to derail what has been another imperious Champions League campaign from Florentino Perez’s army.
A brief saunter over to Merseyside resulted in the dismantling of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool (yet again), and a further trip to London brought easy victory over Frank Lampard’s Chelsea (LOL).
Although Lampard confusingly remarked that he didn’t know how good Real are, I think we all do. This side is rightfully a titan of European football. Although they have ceded this year’s league title to Barcelona, the Champions League is what this side truly lives for.
Nobody in Europe understands how to win this tournament like Los Blancos. I say the word understand because “know” isn’t the right term. No team “knows” exactly how to triumph over adversity at the death, again and again, it’s impossible, yet Real simply understand that they must, and they do. It’s the subconscious belief and commonality among these players that no situation is too far-gone to be solved by 11 of the planet’s best players just vibing.
Chief among them now is Vinicius Jr. A true talisman for club and country, Vini Jr has comfortably ascended to being the 2nd best left winger in the world (behind Kylian Mbappe obviously). Unfairly maligned due to his race in Spain, the Brazilian is and should be seen as a true star. Dynamic, intelligent and supremely gifted, he is the man who Real Madrid’s new age is deservedly being built around. Allowed the freedom of the Bernabeu by Carlo Ancelloti, he will cause any and every team problems.
Major Battles
The two teams’ midfield will be where the game is won and lost. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have been here and done it so many times before it is hard to fathom how they are still going, yet they are. Furthermore, the trio of Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and a resurgent Dani Ceballos is a literal embarrassment of riches.
Opposite them, Kevin de Bruyne and the aforementioned Stones and Rodri have a tough job on their hands facing perhaps the only better-equipped midfield in Europe. Vital though is a different face. Ilkay Gundogan, now one of the longest-serving members of the side, is still the true game-changer in midfield that he always has been. Capable of playing from the #6 through to the #10, the Germany international is a decisive man when push comes to shove. His tenacity and skill will be imperative in breaking an unbreakable midfield.
I didn’t mention Eduardo Camavinga in the above midfield rundown, because if you’ve not been paying attention he’ll probably be playing full-back tomorrow. The full-back department at Real is for sure their weakest area. Carvajal, Mendy, Nacho and Camavinga as a position group does not inspire confidence. Whoever of Jack Grealish, Riyadh Mahrez or Bernardo Silva deployed out wide could make easy pickings of it if not careful.
Whilst I’ve already waxed lyrical about Erling Haaland, and we are all aware of Karim Benzema’s capabilities, for me it is the less appreciated Rodrygo who could make the biggest difference. Much like Gundogan, Rodrygo is decisive. The Brazilian embodies what is so scary about Real Madrid, the inevitability. A goal can come from anywhere, but it always comes from somewhere.
The 22-year-old has 15 this season, with 10 assists. Impressive enough on its own, it becomes more so when you consider the situations. Rodrygo scored twice in last week’s Copa Del Rey final, twice against Chelsea to eliminate them from the Champions League, and five more times in one-goal margin victories. Playing off the wing most often, he is not an important goalscorer for the team, but he is rather a scorer of important goals.
Last season’s encounter between the two was a thrilling win. Real won out 6-5 aggregate winners after a stunning late fightback to bring the 2nd leg to extra time. This side of the draw is even harder to call than the previous. These two teams are for sure the pinnacle of football right now. Real have slipped up badly in the league this season but the fact I do not have it in me to bet against them against Pep Guardiola’s brutal winning machine is a testament to their unyielding nature. Whatever happens is anyone’s guess, because I will not.