Real Madrid face their eleventh Champions League semi-final and Manchester City want their title

Real Madrid will meet Manchester City in a double match in what will be yours eleventh semi-final in thirteen years, the last three consecutively.

The English team, the only one of the four that did not win the tournament, was present at the tournament the last three semi-finals. For this opportunity, they have the scoring gluttony of Haaland.

Milan and Inter, semi-final on the same stage, Giuseppe Meazza Stadiumwhich guarantees the presence of the team from the capital Lombardy in the final in Istanbul.

The numbers that Real Madrid, the defending champion of the biggest club tournament in the world, leave no doubt that it is the favorite to defend the title. Madridistas will face a duel againstl Manchester City in the eleventh semifinal in thirteen years, the last three in a row.

A team that has won fourteen titles, more than its three “partners” in the semi-finals (Milan, 7; Inter 3 and Manchester City none, a total of ten), was presented in the penultimate part of competitive three eliminate Liverpool and Chelsea, with the aim of surpassing the third representative on Premier League.

Real Madrid figures in this competition they help the optimism of their fans. His coach, Italian Carlo Ancelotti, He reached his fourth semi-final on the white team’s bench in the four opportunities he had. In addition, Ancelotti is three games away from surpassing his own record he set last season: becoming the first coach to win the continent’s biggest tournament five times.

At the player level, Karim Benzema, the current Ballon d’Oryou know what a semi-final is Champions League. French striker He was among the eleven his team competed for in the last thirteen years, winning the title five times, which puts him in the ranks of Paco Gent (1933-2022), winger Real Madrid in the sixties and seventies, the only one to score six European Cups.‘

7

titles won by Milan.

3

Inter won the title.

Benzema, the author of four goals in the current edition, managed to form a high attacking duo with him Brazilian Vinicius (six goals), with the formation of the triangle of precision and seniority with Luka Modrid and Toni Kroos, who, like the French, have five continental championship titles and are one of reaching the old feat of Ghent.

To complete the solvency of Madrid, it cannot be ignored the effectiveness of Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian goalkeeper which was decisive in numerous matches. Courtois’ data is unquestionable: he is the goalkeeper who had the most saves (88 in 21 games played), in the last two season in the Champions League.

Opposite Real Madrid is Manchester City, who although aiming to win this competition for the first time, figures to be the favorite for the title. Starting with his coach, the Spaniard Pep Guardiola, who will be present at his the tenth semi-final of the Champions League -He has won two continental titles, both with FC Barcelona, ​​which makes him the coach with the most games in this last round. Behind the Spaniard is his rival in semi-final, Italian Ancelottiwhich reaches this stage for the ninth time.

For those from Manchester, it will be the third consecutive semi-final, after they were in the 2020-21 season. they reached the final and lost to Chelsea, and the last time they were defeated in the round tie against Real Madrid. However, they did not have the encouragement of the “citizens” on those last two occasions Norwegian Erling Haaland.

The arrival of the striker in City changed the spirit of the entity. In his first season, the Norwegian does not stop breaking records, apart from reaching the semi-finals Champions League.

His goal-scoring gluttony It seems that there are no limits: he is the youngest at 22 years old and the fastest to score 35 goals in only 27 games at the top tournament.

The Norwegian striker distributes his goals in Champions League through four seasons and three clubs: eight goals in six matches with Salzburg in the 2019-20 season; 15 in 13 matches with Borussia Dortmund in 2020-21 and 2021-22; and twelve in eight engagements with Manchester City. In historical classification scorers of the European Cup or the Champions League, Haaland It is already among the 22 most productive, although it is far from the 141 goals scored Cristiano Ronaldo, who leads the ranking, ahead of Messi with 129.