And then there were four. We now know the four semifinalists in this season’s Champions League: AC Milan, Internazionale, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Reigning Premier League champions City dispatched Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich — one of the pre-tournament favourites — to set up a rematch of last season’s semifinal against trophy holders Madrid, who made light work of eliminating Chelsea.
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The other semifinal pits local rivals Milan and Inter against each other, after they beat Serie A leaders Napoli and Portuguese side Benfica respectively to set up a clash between two clubs who have won the European Cup 10 times between them.
Madrid will host City at the Bernabeu on May 9 before travelling to the Etihad on May 17, while the two Milan clubs will play their two additional instalments of the Derby Della Madonnina on May 10 and 16.
But which teams will progress to reach the final in Istanbul on June 10, and who will lift the trophy? We asked ESPN writers Gab Marcotti, Mark Ogden, James Olley and Julien Laurens for their predictions and other thoughts on the semifinals.
Who has been the coach of the tournament so far, and why?
Marcotti: Luciano Spalletti, hands down. As a reminder, Napoli are a club that had never been this far in the Champions League and they had outplayed every opponent. And they did it after cutting their wage bill by 30% last summer and letting their supposedly three most important players leave (Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz.) Spalletti was also able to channel the passion and intensity of the city of Naples, managing its excesses all season long. That’s a skill too, especially for a guy who, frankly, has sometimes let his temper and his personality get the better of him in the past. He too has grown, just as this team has.
Ogden: Spalletti. OK, Napoli didn’t make it to the semifinals after being knocked out by AC Milan, but it’s safe to say that injuries and suspensions conspired against the Serie A leaders at the worst possible time. But despite being without Victor Osimhen, Kim Min-Jae, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone for either one or both legs of the Milan tie and losing Mario Rui and Matteo Politano to first-half injuries in the second leg, Napoli almost took the game to extra time in Naples. Until they faced Milan, Napoli were the most exciting team in this season’s Champions League and that was down to Spalletti moulding a team that blew Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers away in the group stage. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Stanislav Lobotka and Osimhen have lit up the Champions League this season, but Spalletti couldn’t overcome the loss of so many key players to take Napoli into the last four and beyond. But without the resources of the majority of teams in the competition, Napoli and Spalletti certainly left their mark.
Olley: Stefano Pioli. It is obviously easier to swing in behind this argument after AC Milan beat Napoli because Spalletti would otherwise have been clear first choice, but Pioli has done a remarkable job. The talk about Milan’s pedigree in this competition is understandable but they won their first Serie A title in 11 years last season with a youthful lineup. In fact, at an average age of 26 years and 97 days, they’re the youngest team to win the Scudetto since Serie A adopted three points for a win in 1994. And so there was no guarantee that a team playing in the Champions League for only the second time in five seasons would kick on and after an inauspicious group phase, they have stepped up a gear in the knockout rounds. They may not have beaten European heavyweights in Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli, but they adapted to each challenge well and that is credit to the man in the dugout.
Laurens: Simone Inzaghi. He has been under pressure for weeks at Inter with a big possibility that he will be sacked in the summer, yet he put together a master plan to knock out Benfica in the quarterfinals. His Inter side were considered underdogs and lacked confidence and momentum coming into the first leg after some pretty average results in Serie A. But he showed character and outplayed rival coach Roger Schmidt tactically, home and away, to bring the Nerazzurri back to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2010, when they won the whole thing as part of their Treble under Jose Mourinho. With his 3-5-2 formation, Inzaghi nullified the attacking threat from in-form Benfica and exposed their weaknesses defensively. Inzaghi deserves so much credit for this European campaign. They beat Barcelona in the group stage to make it to the round of 16. Then they beat FC Porto, the usual bogey team in Europe for Italian clubs, beofre getting the better of Benfica to set up a fantastic Milan derby in the semifinal.
