Here are our predictions on the football being played in the Champions League this week. We take a closer look of the managers and teams in the semi-finals.
We saw some astonishing football last week in the Champions League. With Liverpool outclassing AS Roma by 5 - 2, and the current champion Real rising against the might Bavarian team Bayern.Real Madrid - Bayern Munchen
In the first leg at the Allianz Arena, we saw Real Madrid getting one over the German champion. Ronaldo and co. will be heading back to the Spanish capital with a one-goal lead, but most importantly, two goals at their tally in an away game.
Again, all the major football pundits will say this is Real's competition, and that they are the first frontrunners to win it. But same as you can't win at the best casinos online all the time, you can't win the Champions League all the time, not even if you're Real Madrid.
Real are vulnerable, and the game in the quarterfinals against Juventus at home, which they lost 1 - 3, goes to prove that you have to be at your highest level if you want to win the most prestigious competition in club football.
Is Real Madrid in their top form? Certainly not, and one can't shake off the feeling that if Zidane does not win the Champions League, he'll no longer be at the helm of the historic Spanish giant. They are out of the league title race, and the CL is the only trophy they are still in the competition. This will put a lot of pressure on the backs Los Blanco’s.
Understand Bayern came into the game with injuries, but seriously, they still had big players out there. None of them other than a 35-year-old Ribery turned up. Lewandowski was appalling.— David Cartlidge (@davidjaca) April 25, 2018
On the other hand, Bayern has secured both cup and league domestically, and are now on the chase for a treble. Can they do it thou?
In the first leg, a lot of things went south for the charismatic Jupp Heynckes. Dutch winger Arjen Robben had to be subbed early in the game, and then another forced substitute came fairly early as Jerome Boateng also requested to be substituted. If it weren't for these early subs, Bayern would easily brush aside Zidan's squad.
The game in Spanish capital promises to be a great one, with Bayern being the favourite to proceed to the finals of the Champions League in this tie.
AS Roma - Liverpool
What a football it was last week when these two met at the legendary Anfield. We all knew Mohamed Salah is currently playing at the elite level we only seen with Messi and Ronaldo, but what he produced that night was truly special.
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| Mohamed Salah has came back to haunt his old employer, but does not celebrate any of his goals. |
But just how much does the Liverpool game depend on one player is surely not a good thing. Soon as Jurgen Klopp decided to substitute Salah later in the game to spare him from further fatigue, the Italians scored two goals that might give them a lifeline they desperately need.
If you remember, and I'm sure it's still fresh in your memory, AS Roma were caught in almost same situation in the quarterfinals against Barcelona. They trailed three goals coming back from Spain, but with the frantic support of the home fans, they managed to make a miracle and win the tie by 3 - 0 which saw them through to the semi-finals’, only for the second time in the club's history.
Can Eusebio perform another miracle, or would it be best he tried his luck on one of the casino games online? Miracles don't happen often, but the word miracle is maybe too strong to describe what happened in the second leg of the Barca vs Roma tie. Barca was not on their level even in the first leg, but they managed to win 4 - 1. But the result is not telling the whole story, AS Roma were a better team in this tie, and had only themselves to blame for the loss, with scoring two own goals.
But Jurgen Klopp will undoubtedly do better than Ernesto Valverde in his match preparation. The German must be aware that there is no joking around even though he has more than comfortable result coming into this tie. But if he and his player perform at their usual standard that we got used to during this season, then there's no way Eusebio di Francesco's men are going through, unfortunately for them.
