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Champions League talking points: Man City, Real Madrid the teams lớn beat? Bad luck for Bayern Munich?

The Champions League semifinals are phối with Real Madrid facing off with Chelsea and Manchester đô thị set lớn clash with Paris Saint-Germain. There is plenty to break down from Real"s defeat of Liverpool, Chelsea overcoming FC Porto, Man thành phố beating Borussia Dortmund, & PSG eliminating holders Bayern Munich. huroji.com"s Rob Dawson, Sid Lowe & Derek Rae look back at the action and preview the next stage.

Who wins it all: Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid or Chelsea?

Dawson: It"s hard lớn look past Manchester City. They"ve won 28 of their last 30 games in all competitions, và one of those defeats was against Leeds United when Pep Guardiola rotated this squad heavily. Defensively they look far more solid than they have done in previous seasons & have continued lớn score goals even without the use of a recognised striker. Crucially, they didn"t panic against Borussia Dortmund. There were times during previous Champions League knockout exits to lớn AS Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Lyon when they seemed khổng lồ panic, but there appeared khổng lồ be more composure at the Signal Iduna Stadium on Wednesday night, even after going a goal down. It"s a good sign ahead of the semifinal with PSG. City have every reason to believe they can go on and win it.

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Lowe: Real Madrid. Of the four teams in the semifinals, most would agree that they are favourites to lớn get through (and they will be happy that they didn"t have to lớn meet PSG, Bayern or city on route, all of whom may be better than them). Và in a European Cup final: well, it"s Real Madrid and a European Cup final. For a lot of this season, the truth is that Madrid haven"t been very good, but they still have a midfield trio unlike anyone else (Luka Modric, Toni Kroos & Casemiro), plus Fede Valverde, and a goalkeeper and a striker of the highest cấp độ in Thibaut Courtois and Karim Benzema. There"s seriousness about Madrid that brings the defensive solidity they lacked earlier in the season. (Here"s a question: vì they defend better without Sergio Ramos?) and above all there"s just something about them. They step up when it really matters.

Rae: I see this as Manchester City"s Champions League to thua now. They are the most complete team left in the competition, and there is a fierce determination lớn atone for the mishaps of recent knockout stages. Their unique really told when it mattered against Dortmund & the whole story was capped off by Phil Foden"s moment of brilliance to lớn seal it. But having said all that they"re really going to lớn have khổng lồ earn it against PSG. We saw in the first leg against Bayern how much individual unique is in their ranks, and I can"t imagine the PSG-City semifinal being a runaway in either direction. PSG"s lethal counterattacks from Kylian Mbappe & Co. Will be a real kiểm tra for Ruben Dias & John Stones. Maybe surprisingly to some, I make Chelsea favourites against Real Madrid. I"m not reading anything into their second-leg defeat against Porto, as the object of the exercise was khổng lồ progress after a competent first-leg performance, & Thomas Tuchel"s men still did that with relative ease. I feel they"re better equipped to lớn stifle a classy midfield and attack in a way that Liverpool couldn"t in their quarterfinal first leg. Plus Chelsea might have the best, deepest bench of any of the teams left.

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Biggest "shock" in the quarterfinals?

Rae: That Dortmund coach Edin Terzic took the bold step of naming Ansgar Knauff in the starting XI both times against City. Now that sounds strange in the light of the 19-year-old winger"s match-winning contribution against VfB Stuttgart, but if we were to lớn transport ourselves back in time lớn the start of last week, it was a decision that raised eyebrows. Giving Knauff his first start at the Etihad in the heat of Champions League quarterfinal battle took guts. Knauff had a rough opening và looked slightly out of place but eventually found his game feet. As Terzic said the other day, the youngster is no longer an occasional visitor lớn the Dortmund squad. We"re going to be seeing a lot more of this fast, talented player, & the experience will have served him well. It"s just a pity for Dortmund that qualifying for next year"s Champions League appears a task too great, given the seven-point chasm between them và fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Dawson: The Champions League quarterfinals is the time for managers khổng lồ pick their strongest teams, and it was telling that Raheem Sterling played just two minutes of Manchester City"s tie with Dortmund. Sterling has been a key part of the city team which has dominated English football since Pep Guardiola"s arrival in năm nhâm thìn but at the business end of the season, the England winger had found himself on the sideline. Guardiola has explained that Riyad Mahrez và Phil Foden are in better khung and, with both scoring in the 2-1 win over Dortmund on Wednesday, Sterling may find it tough lớn win back his place before the semifinal with PSG.

Lowe: There were no shocks, not really. Not even the surprises are huge surprises: Bayern going out; Liverpool lacking the subtlety khổng lồ get past a deep defence và Mohamed Salah not taking the chance when it came lớn him; Madrid defending deep và catching on the break; Porto giving Chelsea problems, a lot of them, but ultimately coming up short. Even Vinicius Jr. Scoring two in the first leg isn"t that much of a shock -- however much it was treated in Spain as a grand revelation and however much his finishing has been an object of fun. He is different, a player that shakes games up, makes things happen và excites (while also being exasperating). That said, he might be the "surprise" of the round. Or maybe the biggest surprise is Dortmund striker Erling Haaland not scoring?

Who was unluckier in the quarterfinal: Liverpool, Dortmund or Bayern?

Lowe: Bayern were. On one màn chơi this is a simple conclusion: they were the only team to lớn go out on away goals. But there"s more: just count the shots against PSG. Look at the chances they missed in the first leg, the way they actually played -- better than anyone else in the quarterfinals. Even in the second leg when PSG were probably the better side making the chances, they were so close to lớn going through. & then look at the absence of Robert Lewandowski và ask yourself: does this happen if he doesn"t get injured playing for Poland against Andorra?