With the excitement of IMFC’s current Champions League finals run in CONCACAF, fans of the Bleu-blanc-noir may have missed some of the action across the pond.
With the UEFA Champions League semifinalists now set in Europe, some interesting storylines have developed.
Josep Guardiola will lead his current team onto his old stomping grounds as Bayern Munich is set to take on his former club, FC Barcelona, for the very first time with Pep as their coach.
Despite losing in Portugal 3-1, Bayern hammered Porto in the return leg in Germany 6-1 and advanced 7-4 on aggregate. Barcelona won both legs, 3-1 away and 2-0 at home versus Paris St-Germain.
Despite these two high scoring series, the other semifinalists had a tougher go at making the final four.
Juventus’ path to the final won’t be easy as they have drawn Real Madrid in the semis. Both Juve and Real Madrid moved on thanks to 1-0 victories at home, keeping the away leg to a scoreless draw at Monaco and Atletico Madrid, respectively. For the Madrid derby, it took an 88th minute goal by Chicharito to break the deadlock in the decisive leg, while Juve’s triumph came in the first leg.
Juventus has made it back to the semifinals for the first time since 2002/03, despite being one of Italy’s top teams over the last decade.
Another interesting note: this edition of the UEFA Champions League tournament is the first since 2005/06 in which neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal in the quarters.
With the first leg of the semifinals set for May 5 and 6, Impact fans may be tuning in with an extra watchful eye as, following Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League decisive leg at Olympic Stadium (8pm EDT, TVA Sports), their club may be facing the eventual winner from these four teams at the FIFA Club World Cup in December in Japan!
