Well to be honest, I have literally 45 minutes to get this article published before the 3 p.m. games start today. A lot of great matchups and storylines taking place in this year’s quarterfinals. Pep Guardiola facing his old team in Bayern Munich, a Serie A face-off between Milan and Napoli, Real Madrid running it back against Chelsea and last but not least Inter and Benfica squaring off in a battle between two historic clubs. Let’s get into it.
Manchester City vs Bayern Munich
Two powerhouses in their respective leagues, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are always listed as contenders before every Champions League campaign starts. The difference is one team has won it and the other has not. Bayern have been on somewhat of a “rollercoaster” season this year for their standards, as they surprisingly sacked their manager Julian Naglesmann. And then they hired the manager that beat City in the 2021 Final, Thomas Tuchel. In Tuchel’s first match in charge of the Bavarian giants he beat his old team Borussia Dortmund 4-2. However, in the very next match they lost in the DFB Pokal to SC Freiburg 2-1. This was because of a late handball in the box by young star Jamal Musiala.
City on the other hand have been playing out of their mind recently. In the Round of 16, after drawing the first leg against RB Leipzig 1-1, they won the return fixture by a whooping 7-0. Including five goals from the Norwegian robot Erling Haaland. City have won their last eight games in all competitions and are looking to make a late-season run at both the Premier League and Champions League titles.
Key Players
Man City: ST Erling Haaland
Bayern Munich: CM Jamal Musiala
Prediction: Man City wins 3-2 on aggregate
Benfica vs Inter Milan
People who don’t know ball will overlook this fixture assuming that Inter will cruise to a win. Let me break the news to you, Benfica are not a team to play around with. Even with losing Enzo Fernandez in January to Chelsea, they are still a team to watch for a surprise run in this tournament. They are currently seven points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga and they topped their group which included PSG and Juventus. They haven’t lost a single game in this competition, including a 7-1 shellacking of Club Brugge over two legs in the Round of 16. Gonçalo Ramos has 20 goals combined between the league and UCL and will be looking to tear apart the Inter defense of Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi.
Inter have had some notable victories this year that include a Supercoppa Italia final victory over cross-town rivals AC Milan, but they just haven’t been convincing lately. They are winless in their last six games in all competitions and just didn’t look convincing against Porto in the Round of 16. If it weren’t for a late Romelu Lukaku winner at home in the first leg, I think they would’ve lost that game in Portugal in extra-time.
The first leg will be taking place at the famous Estádio da Luz and I don’t see Inter winning. Especially with Inzaghi benching the only goalscorer of the last two legs in Lukaku.
Key Players
Benfica: CAM João Mario
Inter Milan: ST Lautaro Martinez/ST Romelu Lukaku
Prediction: Benfica wins 3-1 on aggregate
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
If Chelsea actually pulls this off, I’ll buy a Chelsea kit (will have to be a Lukaku kit no one else). In a rematch of the 2020/21 semi-finals, the Spanish giants once again take on the Blues of London. While Chelsea have been in complete shambles this season, Real Madrid have been cruising in this competition. The Blues are currently on their fourth manager of the season and it’s none other than Frank Lampard himself. Chelsea have a talented roster on paper, but they just haven’t seemed to put it together this year as they are winless in their last four games. However, they somehow made it past Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16.
For Madrid, they are in great form and should be in full health excluding the absence of Ferland Mendy. Their recent form is shown in their 4-0 drubbing of Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal at the Camp Nou of all places. They did just have a slight hiccup in their last LaLiga game against Villarreal, but the game before that against Valladolid Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in seven minutes. I think they will be just fine.
Key Players
Real Madrid: ST Karim Benzema/CM Luka Modrić
Chelsea: CDM N’Golo Kante/ST João Félix
Prediction: Real Madrid wins 5-2 on aggregate
AC Milan vs Napoli
It would be ignorant to ignore Napoli’s incredible campaign in the Serie A. However, that doesn’t mean this matchup will be easy to predict. The Rossoneri showed exactly that when they went to Naples and won 4-0 with ease. And now with Napoli missing Victor Osimhen for the first leg, the obstacle becomes even greater for the current Serie A leaders.
The thing about Champions League is that no matter what is going on in the league, this tournament will bring out the best in teams. Milan are back in the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2011/12 season, so they will be giving everything out there on the pitch. And with a top four place in Italy not secured, this might be the only way for Pioli’s men to secure a UCL for next year. I think Osimhen will be a huge loss for Napoli and with a mostly healthy Milan team, I think this is Milan’s to win.
Key Players
AC Milan: LW Rafael Leão/GK Mike Maignan
Napoli: LW Khvicha Kvaratskhelia/CB Kim Min Jae
Prediction: AC Milan wins on penalties after a 3-3 result on aggregate.
I did this article in 42 minutes. Up the YSN. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Champions League football time. Let’s enjoy it while we can. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
