The Champions League draw in Switzerland left us another capital derby in European competitions. Real Madrid will face Atlético Madrid in the semi-finals, with the first leg to be held in Santiago Bernabéu and the second leg at Santiago Bernabéu. The other semi-final is Monaco-Juventus with the first leg at the Louis II Stadium.
Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid will play in the Champions League for the fourth year in a row. They met twice in the final, in Lisbon in 2014 and in Milan in 2016, both with Los Blancos lifting the trophy. The also met in 2015, this time in the quarter-finals, and Real Madrid went through thanks to a goal scored by Chicharito Hernández in the last minute of the game.
Atlético Madrid have never won the Champions League and most of the times Real Madrid have prevented it. Now, Simeone’s side will have the opportunity to claim revenge against the city rivals. However, Zidane’s team is the favourite one to lift the trophy in Cardiff.
Both teams met just few days ago in La Liga, and Atlético Madrid were able to get a point from Santiago Bernabéu. They haven’t lost in La Liga at Bernabéu since Simeone’s arrival and this year they drew thanks to a late goal scored by Antoine Griezmann. On the other hand, Los Blancos thrashed Atlético at Calderón (0-3) thanks to a hat trick scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now Madrid will be the European football capital again with a clash between the two giants. Real Madrid have more experience in Europe and they were able to kick out Napoli and Bayern Múnich. Atlético Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City to reach the semi-finals for the third time in four years.
The other clash will be between Monaco and Juventus. Mbappé will face Dybala in an interesting game between two styles. Jardim’s side played quite offensively and their young players are very dangerous at the counter-attack, whereas Juventus are very strong defensively and they have conceded only two goals in the competition.