Elliot Ave-Lallemant, Staff Writer
The final four teams have been confirmed for the Champions League semi-finals: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. But who’s going to be the one to win it all?
But what even is the Champions League, and why is it so important?
The Champions League is an international competition between the top teams in Europe, which is organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Teams play around Europe with hopes of winning the ultimate prize in European club soccer, leading to intense games and rivalries.
But now for the predictions, starting with Real Madrid. Madrid are looking like tournament favorites so far, with their third-string goalkeeper Andriy Lunin putting on a show and making two saves in a penalty shootout against Manchester City. Along with Lunin, their defense is also functioning very well, with Antonio Rüdiger, Dani Carvajal, and Nacho. Rüdiger also played very well against Manchester City and is a good help within Madrid’s back line. Other key players that will help Real Madrid the most are Vinícius Júnior and Eduardo Camavinga, who have been a very good duo this season. But we can’t forget Real Madrid’s golden boy Jude Bellingham. He had a good start In the Champions League, mainly highlighting his skills against Napoli. He still plays well, and I think he can be a big playmaker in Real Madrid’s hunt for their 15th Champions League title.
Real Madrid will face German side Bayern Munich, who are trying to get at least one trophy before their season is over. Bayern are motivated to win something after losing the German league title to Leverkusen (I was right!!), making it the first time in 11 years that Bayern has not won the league. Their striker Harry Kane has also been performing very well this season, but I personally don’t think that Bayern have what it takes to win their Champions League, especially given the fact that they are going to be going up against Real Madrid. It could be a coincidence, but Harry Kane used to play at Tottenham, a team that has famously always choked in the most important moments.
Moving on to the third team, we have the French league’s Paris Saint-Germain. In my opinion, PSG were extremely lucky that the refs were on their side in their last match against Barcelona, and would’ve lost that match if Araújo didn’t get sent off. Ever since the departure of both Lionel Messi and Neymar, PSG just hasn’t seemed to find a player that is worthy or good enough to fill their shoes. They came close when they signed Ousmane Dembélé, but even then, it’s still a stretch to say that PSG would even have hopes of winning a Champions League title.
PSG will face Borussia Dortmund, who has surprised everyone by getting this far. They pulled off a massive upset when they beat Atletico Madrid 4-2, mainly due to great performances by Jadon Sancho and Marcel Sabitzer. PSG are a pretty easy team to beat, and if Dortmund play like they played against Atletico Madrid, they’ll be sure to go through to the final.
In short, I think that Dortmund will beat PSG and Real Madrid will beat a disheartened Bayern, setting up a Dortmund vs. Real Madrid final, which I think Real Madrid will definitely win.
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