Champions League final four
The Champions League semifinalists are set: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint‑Germain and Atlético Madrid will contest the last four. (ESPN: early semifinal previews; AS USA: lists the four remaining sides) ( ).
Europe’s biggest club competition is down to four teams: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid. (uefa.com) The semifinal pairings are Bayern Munich against Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid against Arsenal. UEFA said the first legs will be played on April 28 and 29, with the return legs on May 5 and 6. (uefa.com) Bayern reached the last four after a 4-3 second-leg win over Real Madrid at Allianz Arena and a 6-4 aggregate victory. Arsenal advanced with a 0-0 draw at home to Sporting Lisbon after winning the first leg 1-0. (en.as.com, usnews.com) Paris Saint-Germain got through by eliminating Liverpool, and Atlético Madrid knocked out Barcelona to complete the field. BeIN Sports called the Bayern-Paris Saint-Germain tie “an early final” after both clubs came through heavyweight quarterfinals. (beinsports.com, beinsports.com) This is the first semifinal stage of the second Champions League season under UEFA’s expanded format, which replaced the old group stage with a single 36-team league phase. UEFA said that phase ran from September 16 to January 28 before the knockout rounds began. (uefa.com) The lineup also leaves out two of the competition’s usual powers. Real Madrid, the record 15-time European champion, is out, and Barcelona is out after Atlético ended its run. (en.as.com, beinsports.com) ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote that Arsenal and Bayern Munich have been the best overall teams across the season, while Paris Saint-Germain has looked like the hottest team entering the semifinals. He also noted that Diego Simeone’s Atlético has won in two of its three previous Champions League semifinal appearances. (espn.com) AS USA reported betting markets now list Paris Saint-Germain as the title favorite, ahead of Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atlético Madrid. That leaves four clubs from four countries chasing a place in the final with no defending champion left in the bracket. (en.as.com, beinsports.com) The next two weeks will decide who goes to the final after a knockout round that already removed Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon. The field is set, and every remaining club is now two matches from Munich. (uefa.com, uefa.com)
