Which Two Teams will reach the Champions League Final?
by Steve Ashfield |
Which Two Teams will reach the Champions League Final?
We're nearly there and soon it will be known who the two teams playing in the 2021/22 Champions League final will be, The last four sees Liverpool take on Villarreal and Real Madrid face Manchester City. Liverpool and Real Madrid have both won Europe's top club competition on several occasions. Villarreal and Manchester City are still waiting for their first triumph.
Will we see an all-English final for the second year in a row? Perhaps it'll be an all-Spanish final for the first time since 2016? Only time will tell but in the meantime, let us have a look at the four teams, how they got to the last four and if they can make it to the final.
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Another Final for Real Madrid?
Real Madrid have won the European Cup/Champions League on a record 13 occasions. An appearance in the 2021/22 final would be their 17th but the first since 2018.
The Spaniards are bidding for a Champions League and La Liga double. The latter looks nailed on for success as they have a double-figure lead at the top of their domestic league. Real Madrid have reached the last four of the Champions League despite losing three matches. They lost at home to Sheriff Tiraspol in the group stages. They won their other five games though and won the group by five points.
Another loss came in the last 16 as they lost 1-0 at PSG in the first leg. When they went a goal down in the home second leg, Real looked to being on the way out. Then came Karim Benzema who hit a hat-trick with his three goals coming in just 17 minutes to totally transform the tie. Real won 3-2 on aggregate but had more problems in the quarter finals.
The last eight saw them take on defending champions Chelsea. The first leg was in London and Benzema was again in great form. He scored another hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge. The hard work wasn't over though as Chelsea fought back in Madrid. Real went 3-0 down with ten minutes remaining. Rodrygo score the goal that earned Madrid extra time. Benzema then scored his 12th goal in this season's Champions League to win the tie for his side, even though they lost the game 3-2.
Now they take on English Premier League champions Manchester City with the first leg in England. This is a repeat of the 2019/20 last 16 tie and on that occasion, City won both legs 2-1. Real Madrid seem to be in better form than two years ago and will prove difficult to beat.
City Still Dreaming of a First Champions League Title
For the second season in a row, Manchester City are in the Champions League semi-finals. It's their third in all but only last season did they manage to progress to the final. That saw them lose to Chelsea and that dream of a first Champions League title still exists.
At the time of writing this news item (April 14), Pep Guardiola's side are chasing a treble of the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League. It's not just Real Madrid standing in their way of success this season. Liverpool threaten City's hopes in all three competitions. More about Liverpool later in this article.
City have lost two games in this season's Champions League and both were in the group stages. They lost away to PSG and also to RB Leipzig. The latter saw them field a weakened line-up as they had already secured their place in the last 16. In the group stages, wins have come against Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid.
City have played four games in the knockout stages and not conceded a single goal. Whether they can do that against Real Madrid is a big question. They are a bit more positive than Atletico and a much better team than Sporting Lisbon. City last lost a home game in the Champions League in 2020, when being beaten by Lyon. Since then they have been in great form on home soil including two wins over PSG and victories over Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.
The English side have three games to play before the home first leg against Real on April 26. They would probably have preferred the first leg to be in Spain but will be buoyed by the fact that Chelsea have just gone to Madrid and won the match if not the tie. City might just edge this tie to reach the final but it's going to be one heck of a battle to keep Benzema and company under control.
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Another Villlarreal Shock?
Cup competitions always seem to produce a surprise team. This season in the Champions League it is Villarreal who have made it to the last four. The La Liga side are bidding to win this competition a season after winning the Europa League.
If they hadn't won the Europa League, Villarreal would not be in this competition. They finished 19 points behind the final qualifying spot in La Liga. They may well need to win the Champions League to be in it next season. At the time of writing they are 11 points behind the top four and eight behind a Europa Conference League position. Yet here they are in the semi-finals of the 2021/22 Champions League.
The La Liga side finished second behind Manchester United (who they lost to twice) in the group stages. They were in danger of heading back into the Europa League if losing their final group game at Atalanta. They shocked the Italians by going 3-0 up and held on for a 3-2 win to make it into the knockout stages.
That led to a last 16 tie against Juventus and it got off to the worst possible start. The home first leg saw them go a goal down inside the first minute. Villarreal equalized but could only draw 1-1. The odds were against them in the away second leg but again they went to Italy and scored three goals, winning the match 3-0,
Few gave them a chance against Bayern Munich in the quarter finals. This time they were the ones to score an early goal in the home first leg. They took the lead in the eighth minute and held on to win the game 1-0. A slender lead to take to Bayern and Lewandowski levelled the tie in the 52nd minute. Extra time looked on the cards but then Chukwueze scored in the 88th minute and Villarreal were through on a 2-1 aggregate score.
Villarreal have made it to the last four despite only winning two home games. Two others were drawn and they lost to Manchester United. Arnaut Groeneveld has been a key player for them, scoring in three of the five home Champions League games this season. He's also scored three on the road, including two in that vital win in Atalanta. Can he repeat those heroics against Liverpool though?
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The Liverpool Goal Scoring Machine Marches on
Liverpool have played ten games in the Champions League this season and have scored 26 goals. They have already won the EFL Cup this season and at the time of writing are second in the English Premier League, in the FA Cup semi-finals and of course in the last four of the Champions League. They could end up with a double, treble or even quadruple but Villarreal and particularly Manchester City will be doing all they can to limit their success in the coming weeks.
The Reds had a few struggles last season but are in much better form this time around. They won all six of their group games, not bad when up against Atletico Madrid, Milan and Porto. At least two goals were scored in each of their six games as they finished 11 points clear at the top of the group. Their away form has been poor on occasion in the Champions League. Not this season with 11 goals scored in their three away games.
In the last 16, they won 2-0 at Inter before losing the home second leg 1-0. Another three goals were scored in Benfica as they won 3-1 in Portugal. The home leg saw them draw 3-3 but progress to the last four by a 6-4 aggregate. They may have drawn 3-3 but Liverpool had Salah, Mane, Robertson, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho on the bench. Liverpool have one heck of a strong squad and when the best players start the game, it's not good news at all for their opponents.
This time the first leg is at Anfield. The strongest possible line-up will be fielded and Villarreal will do well to avoid defeat. Liverpool look to be on their way to the final and don't be surprised if it's an all-English clash with Manchester City. Spaniards may disagree though!
