Your Guide To The Champions League Semifinal Round
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Your Guide To The Champions League Semifinal Round

Here's what you should know for Juventus-Monaco and Real-Atletico.

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Your Guide To The Champions League Semifinal Round
Sofascore.com

On Friday morning, the fates of each of the four remaining teams in the UEFA Champions League were decided. Through the draw, it was determined that Juventus FC would play AS Monaco FC and the two Madrid teams, Real Madrid CF and Atletico Madrid will face off as well. Here is a look into the matchups for the semifinal games.

1. Club Atletico de Madrid (Madrid, Spain)

To get to the semifnal rounds, Atletico Madrid finished the group stage at the top of Group D and defeated Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 4-2 on aggregate to advance to the quarterfinals against Leicester City FC who they beat 2-1 on aggregate scoring. Atletico will face their cross-city rivals Real Madrid. This rivalry is one of the top rivalries in sports and undoubtedly fans will flock to the games, selling out both the Santiago Bernabeu and Estadio Vicente Calderon for each leg of the matchup. The trips to each stadium will be short and the pride for each team will show. This is a rematch of the Champions League Final game from both 2014 and 2016. Atleti have been one of the most consistent teams in European football. Though they are not the flashiest team, they have some of the most talented players in the world and have developed into one of the best teams.

They really gel as a unit, characterized by sound defending and good, stylish play up front. Coach Diego Simeone has found a group of players led by the likes of French speedster, Antoine Griezmann up front with Fernando Torres and Koké, Saúl, Captain Gabi Fernandez and Yannick Carrasco just behind them in Midfield. Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak will marshall the renowned Rojiblanco defense with Brazilian fullback Felipe Luis on the left (who is highly regarded as one of the best in the world if not the best) and Juanfran of Spain opposite of him on the right. In between the two outside fullbacks, Diego Godín and Jose Fernandez, both Uruguayan, hold down the center defense. The traditional 4-4-2 formation has been the go-to for Coach Simeone. Earlier this year, Los Rojiblancos drew 1-1 with Real Madrid at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium but lost 3-0 at home to Los Blancos in their second La Liga matchup this year. Atleti has a lot of depth on the bench with the likes of Kevin Gameiro and Alessio Cerci who can be prolific players and helpful substitutes when called upon. Atletico has one of the most solid starting line-ups in the Champions League. Their players are experienced veterans who show great composure and certainly a flair for the dramatic. They stay true to their defensive skill set and dangerous on the counter-attack which will provide plenty of problems for their more offensive-minded counterparts in Madrid.

Atletico have the potential to overthrow Real and advance to the final if they can stay organized in the back and withstand the barrage from Real Madrid. They will have to play confident and tactical football to suffocate the Real attack and find a way to capitalize on the few chances they will be afforded in the first and second leg. Atletico sit in third place in the Spanish league, La Liga, Santander. Just 7 points behind their Champions League opponents, Real Madrid. This could be a chance for Atletico to make a statement for their position in Spain, though it seems unlikely that they will be able to catch Real with just five domestic league games left to play

2. Real Madrid CF (Madrid, Spain)

Now we move across the Spanish capital to take a look at the other side of this semifinal match up. At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the star-studded lineup of Real Madrid is very adaptable, led by Zinedine Zidane, a very tactical manager who loves to rely on the experience and skill of his trusted players. A possible lineup combination for the match up against Atletico has been drawn from the way Madrid matched up against Bayern Munich last week in a 4-3-3. This possible lineup consists of Karim Benzema as the lone central striker who plays more of a Bomber role in the side. Benzema is flanked by Portuguese superstar and Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo on the left and Isco Alarcon up front. This formidable front three could potentially include Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez or Alvaro Morata in place of Isco who normally plays a more withdrawn role.

Behind the forwards, we can expect the always dependable German Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric from left to right respectively. The defense will be led by Panama international Keylor Navas at goalkeeper protected by Marcelo at left back and Dani Carvajal on the right with captain Sergio Ramos in the center paired with Raphael Varane if he is deemed fit to play. If Varane cannot go, he will be replaced by either Pepe of Portugal or Spain’s Nacho Fernandez. Real Madrid have very high expectations and currently sit in first place in La Liga, Santander. To get to the semifinal round, Real finished second in Group F to Borussia Dortmund. They are the only team remaining in the Champions League who was not at the top of their group. They went on to breeze past SSC Napoli 6-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 and topple the always difficult Bayern Munich 6-3 on aggregate that finished with a lucky escape in the second leg as the referees gifted Los Galacticos a goal and a very debatable red card to Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal. They face a tough defensive team in Atletico and could struggle to compensate for their injury woes at center back. Madrid is one of the most talented teams ever assembled and can give any squad a massive defeat if they are not careful. They will have to stay disciplined and try to get that first goal because for Real Madrid, with one goal always comes a few more. It will be very difficult for Atleti to overcome a big deficit so Madrid must find a way to break down the defense while making certain that Atleti does not respond with a lethal counterattack.

The inconsistent play of Karim Benzema can be a problem as well. The striker will need to draw the attention of the Atletico center defenders to open up space on the flanks for Ronaldo and either Bale, Lucas Vazquez or whoever gets the call from Zidane. Madrid can be very beatable and also very dominant. Tensions will be high in anticipation for the matchup between these two teams who know each other all too well. They will have to be at their best to push past Atletico to reach their second final in as many years.

Prediction: Real Madrid 4-2 Atletico Madrid (Agg.)

3. AS Monaco FC (Monaco)

Monaco have really hit their stride this season. Their combination of both young and veteran talents have propelled them into the conversation for one of the most exciting teams in Europe. Les Rouge et Blancs are currently 3 points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris-St. Germain. Although, Monaco has two games in hand and could catch up to PSG with a win this weekend at Lyon. Coach Leonardo Jardim will probably employ a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-1-1 with captain Radamel Falcao leading the side in the central striker role with young breakout star Kylian Mbappe and Valere Germain on the flanks. In the midfield, expect to see Thomas Lemar, Joao Moutinho and Bernardo Silva from left to right.

In the back, Benjamin Mendy, who has been in tremendous form as of late, will hold down the left side and Almamy Toure will most likely be on the right side of the defense. In the middle, former Torino defender Kamil Glik and either the Brazilian Jemerson or Italian Andrea Raggi will join Glik. Danjiel Subasic will be the last line of defense for Monaco at Goalkeeper in the Stade Louis II. He has provided them excellent shot stopping so far throughout the season. Monaco is a very quick team who has the ability to push men forward and excel at building attacks through their outside players, particularly down the left flank.

To reach the semifinals, Monaco finished first in Group E and dispatched Manchester City FC in a high scoring affair (6-6 on agg). They advanced with the help of 3 away goals compared to Manchester’s one which allowed Monaco to sneak into the next round where they squared off against a distracted and apprehensive Borussia Dortmund just one day after their team bus was the victim of a targeted bombing in the streets of Dortmund. Borussia Dortmund defender Marc Bartra suffered a serious hand injury and many other players had minor cuts and bruises but nonetheless much less focused on the match that lay ahead. They defeated Dortmund 6-3 on aggregate and advanced to take on Perennial Italian Champions, Juventus. Monaco will have to prevent Juve from scoring in the first leg in Monaco if they hope to topple the Torino-based club on their mission to reach the Champions League final. Monaco will have to find a way to break through the wall of defense that Juventus used to fend off each Barcelona attack on their way to shut out Barca in both legs.

Monaco has a very difficult task in front of them and a relatively inexperienced team in these stages of the tournament. The keys to a Monaco victory are finding seams (if they exist) in the Juventus backline and playing their own brand of extremely sound defensive football. Players like Kamil Glik have experience battling against Juventus and can provide valuable leadership. Monaco will have to use their speed at outside back and work to find ways through Juventus’ midfield, who will be without starter Sami Khedira due to yellow card accumulation. Even if Monaco does find ways to get shots on goal, Juventus has the best goalkeeper in the world without a doubt.

4. Juventus FC (Torino, Italy)

Juventus have won the Italian Serie A for the last five years and are on their way to number six it seems. They have one of the most dominant sides in Europe and have the second best defense statistically across the continent. Juventus are a very balanced team who play a very tactical yet aesthetically pleasing style implemented by coach Massimiliano Allegri. Juventus switch from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 formation after a bad defeat at Stadio Artemio Franchi to Fiorentina and since this change, they have been unstoppable.

To get to the semifinals, Juventus topped Group H and had a relatively easy time with Porto FC in the round of 16. Juventus then squared off against Barcelona in the quarterfinals and won a passionate game 3-0 in Torino at Juventus Stadium and then shut out Barcelona again at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The team has all the passion, flair and dedication you could ask for and they have the ability necessary to defeat any team in Europe. They currently sit eight points clear atop the Serie A table above SSC Napoli and AS Roma on their way to a sixth consecutive league title. They are also poised to reach the Supercoppa Italiana final and could make it a treble by winning the Champions League final. They will have to fend off a prolific offense in Monaco for the first leg of the matchup and will have to find their own ways to score. The squad will have a lot of confidence after they relieved Barcelona of their Champions League hopes and moved on to the semifinals.

The Juventus side in the 4-2-3-1 will be led by Striker Gonzalo Higuain in the pole position of the attack followed closely by workhorse Mario Mandzukic and up and coming star Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado from left to right. Behind them will be Miralem Pjanic and either Mario Lemina, Kwadwo Asamoah, Stefano Sturaro, or Tomas Rincon to replace Sami Khedira who cannot play due to yellow card accumulation against Barcelona in both legs. In the back, Alex Sandro will be on the left with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in the middle and either Dani Alves or Stephan Lichtsteiner at right back. Juventus are fortunate to have captain GianLuigi Buffon in net. Buffon is the greatest goalkeeper in the world right now and he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Juventus are one of the most balanced teams in the world and possess great attacking capability as well as renowned defending. Juventus are looking to reach their first final since 2015 when they lost an unfortunate game to Barcelona. Juventus must show their focus and determination. Alex Sandro and Dani Alves must be wary of the Monaco outside backs who love to get forward and can do damage if they are not kept in check. The ability of Monaco to pressure opposing defenses will test the fortitude of the Bianconeri backline. Max Allegri will do well to prepare his team to work on the counter attack and use the ball carrying skills of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala to get men forward and return the proverbial volleys of the Monaco attack. The two center backs, Chiellini and Bonucci cannot lose track of Radamel Falcao who can punish teams who give him even a little space. Juventus have the experience and the talent to succeed in this matchup and advance to the finals in Cardiff, Wales. They will need another inspired performance in this matchup and need to find away goals during the first leg in Monaco. Juventus must find ways to create space and keep possession. They do well beating outside backs with the speed of Juan Cuadrado and Dani Alves on the right as well as Alex Sandro on the left and find their teammates hovering around the box.

Prediction: I cannot predict the outcome of this matchup because of a conflict of interest as a Juventus fan. I do not want to be superstitious but I also do not want to jinx my team or be overly biased.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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