The draw for the semi-finals was last week to figure out which teams would face each other. The remaining teams are Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid. The draw resulted in a match up between Bayern Munich and Barcelona. This means that Real Madrid will be facing Juventus. In a previous post, I stated that Bayern Munich and Barcelona were the strongest teams in the tournament. It will be very interesting to see who will come out on top. The match up between Real Madrid and Juventus is a close match up as well so anything can happen. The first match between Real Madrid will be next week on May 5th at 2:45 pm. The match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich will be on the day after at the same time. The semi-finals are bound to be intense as these teams continue to battle for the championship title.
As of today, I will be shutting down my blog. It has been a great time broadcasting this tournament to you readers. Soccer has always been a passion of mine so being able to share my opinions and helping others to learn about the sport always makes me happy. I hope you readers enjoyed reading my blog and have taken an interest in the sport. The tournament is close to an end so do not forget to check out the final game on Saturday June 6th. If you ever have any questions about the sport or even want to talk about matches feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to talk about soccer. Take Care.
The last matches between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid as well as Juventus and Monaco have been played. The teams that will be advancing to the next round are Real Madrid and Juventus. Both of these matches were very close. Any team could have come out victorious.
The first match was between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Both teams had an equal opportunity to advance. This is because their last match resulted in a tie of 0-0. This second match was very intense. At first it seemed as if the two teams would have tied 0-0 again and would have to play in overtime. However, after Arda Turan was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 76th minute, everything had changed, The first and only goal was scored with only two minutes remaining. Javier Hernandez of Real Madrid was the savior for his team when he scored. Real Madrid are now onto the final four, surpassing Atletico with a 1-0 aggregate. Check out the highlights in the video below.
video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x69yNBm2BSE
The match between Juventus and Monaco was close as well. After winning 1-0 in their last match, Juventus had the upper hand. Monaco would have to play hard if they wanted to advance. Although they did play strongly, so did Juventus. Juventus was capable of holding on to their narrow aggregate of 1-0. They held off Monaco with a draw of 0-0 in this match. Juventus now advance to the next round along with Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. The next draw for the upcoming matches is today and it will determine which teams will be facing each other among the final four. Highlights for this match are in the video below.
video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP1fdtFaP3E
After a break for a few weeks, it is finally time to start the matches for the remaining 8 teams in the tournament. The start of these matches includes two games. The first two matches played were Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid and Juventus against Monaco. Now that we are in the quarter finals, there is much more on the line for these teams. You can expect to see very intense and close matches as the tournament continues to advance.
First we will cover the match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid was the host for this match. Real Madrid played great in the previous round and made it out with a 5-4 aggregate over Schalke. Overall they have been playing well as a team. They are also a team that is expected to perform well. Their opponents, on the other hand, barley made it out of the last round. Atletico Madrid struggled against Leverkusen and managed to squeeze through to this current round by winning a penalty shoot out. In a previous post, I had picked Real Madrid to win this match. However, this was not the case. Both teams played strongly and the match resulted in a draw. When looking at the stats for this game, Real Madrid appeared to play better. They dominated most of the first half of the game and had more chances on net. Gareth Bale had an early opportunity that was declined by Jan Oblak, the goal keeper for Atletico Madrid. Jan had a great game and made many crucial saves for his team. He deserves man of the match for his great effort to keep his team in a comfortable position in this tournament. Two crucial yellow cards were given to Mario Suarez of Atletico Madrid and Marcelo of Real Madrid. Both of these players will not be playing in the next match. Also, Mario Mandzukic of Atletico Madrid was hit in the face, which left him with a very bloody injury. Even though Real Madrid played better, with more possession and chances on net, either team could come out victorious. The fate of these two teams will be decided when they meet again for another match. If you are interested in seeing highlights for this game, check out the link below.
video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQaPFscAwBM
Mario Mandzukic’s face injury
The second match of today featured Juventus and Monaco. Juventus was the host for this match. They have been playing great in this tournament. They easily made it out of the previous round with a 5-1 aggregate over Dortmund. Monaco barely made it out of the previous round by having more away goals than Arsenal. In the same previous post, I had chosen Juventus to win this game. My prediction was correct. Juventus won this match 1-0. Both teams played great with practically the same amount of chances. However, Juventus showed more possession which helped them later on in the match. The only goal came from a penalty kick in the 57th minute of the match. It was scored by Arturo Vidal. He deserves man of the match for his beautiful penalty kick into the top corner and his many chances on net. Although Monaco played a great game as well, they could not manage to respond to the only Juventus goal. Feel free to check out the highlights for this match in the video below.
video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armTEpWW2DI
Coming from a heavy soccer background, I have seen many teams play over the years. I have been watching soccer for as long as I can remember and have kept up to date with the sport. I enjoy watching many different leagues and try to do my best to follow them. Although it is very strange to say this, I like many different teams. I also do not have a team that I truly dislike. However, I do have a favorite team. My favorite club team of all time is Real Madrid. I really enjoy the way that they play soccer and I am also a big fan of their roster. The most important reason why this is my favorite team is because it has my favorite player, Cristiano Ronaldo. I grew up watching him play and he has always been an inspiration to me. He is an absolutely amazing player that never fails to keep me entertained when watching him play. I will never forget the time my father first showed me him. After watching him play for the first time, I knew instantly that he would be my favorite player.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Although I mentioned in a previous post that I believe they will get the upper hand against Atletico Madrid, I do not see them going all the way. They have fierce competition ahead of them. They first have to get past Atletico Madrid, and after that they have even more intimidating teams to face, such as Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Real Madrid may not be strong enough to take on these teams. Regardless, I can not wait to see them play their first match against Atletico Madrid next Tuesday. I will be cheering them on no matter what happens. Feel free to let me know who your favorite team is and where you project them to be in this tournament. As we have seen in the last round, anything can happen. Who knows? Maybe your favorite team will go all the way.
Although there are 8 teams remaining, the end is close by. Now is a better time than any to consider which two teams will be in the finals. We have seen many games from each of these remaining teams, and now have a more narrow list to choose from. We are also more aware of how each team plays and who their key players are. There is no doubt that each of these teams have worked very hard to reach this point. However, only two teams can make it to the finals and only one team can win it all. For the final two teams I have chosen Barcelona and Bayern Munich. These are two very amazing teams with many great players. In my opinion, they are the two strongest teams in the entire tournament. Barcelona has a great offensive line, which I mentioned in a previous post. This line consists of Neymar, Messi, and Luis Suarez. Messi is considered, by many people, to be the best player in the world. The fact that he has two amazing players to help him out offensively is a great benefit to his team. Barcelona also has other great players such as Xavi, Gerard Pique, Iniesta, and many more. Overall, Barcelona has a very well rounded team and have proven to be a strong team. However, I believe Bayern Munich has the upper hand. They have an outstanding roster that appears to be much stronger than Barcelona’s. They are a consistent team that is capable of playing well in any position on the pitch. They have an amazing roster of players which includes Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Arjen Robben and so many more. They will continue to be a difficult team to play in this tournament and there is a very good chance that they can go all the way. It will take more than Barcelona’s strong offensive line to beat this team. Overall, I choose Bayern Munich to go all the way in this tournament. However, this is only my prediction. Feel free to leave your own prediction on who you think will come out on top. Also, for my next post I will be letting you know who my favorite team in the tournament is and what I think will happen with their match up.
So far we have seen, and covered, many matches in the tournament. Many of these matches have been very close and intense to watch, but it is just getting started. Although the tournament is coming close to an end, there is still much more to cover. This post is just an update on what I will be covering for the remainder of the tournament.
As you know, there are only 8 teams remaining in UEFA Champions league. These teams are Juventus, Monaco, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, FC Porto, Bayern Munich, Paris SG, and Barcelona. As of right now there is a break until the remaining 8 teams start playing again. During this break I will continue to make predictions for what I believe will be the outcome of the tournament. I will also post about any updates regarding any of the remaining teams. Feel free to make any comments on what you would like me to cover or any predictions of your own. As we get down to the wire the games are bound to be very intense. Rest assured, I will be here to report every match to you until the very end. Every match counts so be prepared for great suspense and maybe even some drama. Below are the dates for the upcoming matches.
Juventus vs. Monaco: April 14th at 2:45 pm
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: April 14th at 2:45 pm
The first set of matches for the remaining 8 are Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid and Monaco against Juventus. First lets examine the matchup between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid made it through the last round with a one goal advantage over their opponents. Atletico, however, barely made it through last round by winning in a penalty shoot out. They still have a great chance to win though. The last time these two teams faced each other was in the league they are a part of. Atletico dominated the game and won 4-0. However, I do not believe this will happen again. I am picking Real Madrid to win this one. They have not been playing to their full potential lately, but I feel this will change. The team has plenty of time to turn things around. If they play to their best ability they will not be stopped. Ronaldo has had it with his teams current condition and will definitely be looking to turn things around. He will indeed be a key player for this match.
Key Players:
Real Madrid:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Karim Benzema
Gareth Bale
Atletico Madrid:
Fernando Torres
Antoine Griezmann
Mario Suárez Mata
Next, lets examine the match up between Monaco and Juventus. Juventus has been playing great this tournament, especially after getting through last round with a 5-1 aggregate. They are currently first in their own league and have shown that they are more than capable of winning matches. Their opponents on the other hand, barely made it out of the last round. They are currently fourth in their own league and have been a bit off. Juventus lost one of their best players, Paul Pogba, due to an injury last match. He will probably not play next match. However, I believe they will still win. They proved that they were capable of winning without him during the match that he left with an injury. They also appear to have a stronger team, along with better players.
Key Players:
Juventus:
Carlos Tevez
Álvaro Morata
Gianluigi Buffon
Monaco:
Dimitar Berbatov
Geoffrey Kondogbia
Fabinho
These are only my predictions for the beginning of the next round. Feel free to share your own in the comments section along with who you think will be key players in the upcoming matches.
After the round of 16, only 8 teams remain in the tournament. These eight teams are Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Juventus, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, FC Porto, and Bayern Munich. These teams are randomly picked and put against each other. They then play two matches against each other, similar to the round of 16. One match is home and the other match is away. This is essentially the same process that was used for the round of 16. Whoever has the most goals in the end advances to the next round. This process will continue until it is time for the semi-finals. The drawings for the next set of matches has been done. Below is a diagram of which teams will face each other and how the direction they will take to reach the end of the tournament.
As the table shows, the following teams will be facing each other within the remaining eight.
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
Juventus vs. Monaco
PSG vs. Barcelona
FC Porto vs Bayern Munich
Overall, these will be very exciting and intense match ups to watch. Every game will be crucial as the tournament progresses and every time will have to try their hardest. If there is any confusion about the table feel free to comment and ask questions. Other inputs or opinions are encouraged as well.
Champions League 