Champions League: Road to the Semifinals! Favorites and Underdogs!

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Photo found @AFCAjax

Ajax dominating previous champions, Real Madrid.

Ayansa Mergia '20, Staff Writer

The champion league is back after about month off. The draw for the quarter-finals of the European competition was made on March 15 leaving us all waiting impatiently for this round. The matchups we have this round are exciting!

Tottenham vs Man city

The first leg will be at Tottenham’s new stadium, Tottenham has been considered underdogs throughout the Champions League this season but they were drawn alongside Man City in the quarter-finals. Tottenham is a good side. They have reached in the Quarter Finals by defeating Borussia Dortmund comfortably.  They are good, but not good enough to match Manchester City. So it would be a major upset if Manchester City could not make it to the Semis.

Liverpool vs Porto

Facing Porto was the draw every other team wanted. Jurgen Klopp’s men have been handed a quarter-final tie against Porto, a side they defeated 5-0 in the last 16 in 2017-18. The Portuguese side has done well to get this far, knocking out Roma but still, with Porto being on the road first, I am very much sure Liverpool will not make any mistakes and will easily storm into the Semis. 

Ajax vs Juventus

Both the teams made an unbelievable comeback after losing the first leg and managed to survive. Ajax shocked the whole world as they defeated the 13-time winners, Real Madrid winning on AGG. 5-3. Juventus made a heroic comeback as they beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 on AGG. It will be interesting to see the Ajax attack Juventus’s Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci centered defense. Still, Ajax will not fear anyone and could give the Italians a scare. Cristiano Ronaldo has been incredible and a beast in UCL in recent years. Juventus will go through and will meet the winner of Man City v Tottenham in the Semis.

Barcelona vs Manchester United

This match will be really interesting. No one ever predicted Manchester United to beat  PSG especially in the fashion they did. Man Utd pulled off the incredible comeback as Paris St-Germain collapsed at home with the last goal coming after a dramatic late VAR decision giving Manchester United a penalty. But it is a daunting draw for United, who will be home again for the first leg, Barcelona is not afraid because they have Lionel Messi who is arguably the greatest soccer player ever. Barcelona is favorited, for sure, but with Solskjaer at the wheel for United, this could be a close game.

Watch the matches here: www.uefa.com to catch all the talent. Find out which teams will advance to the semi-finals.