UEFA Champions League Semi-final draw – Real Madrid Land Bayern Again

The UEFA Champions League Semi-final draw has been revealed. The ties are as expected, full of class and glamour. It promises to be a hell of matches against the remaining four teams: Liverpool FC, AS Roma, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. In the draw, Liverpool was paired with Barcelona conquerors, AS Roma while Real Madrid faces Real Madrid in what is a repeat of the last year’s Quarter final.

Following the dramatic events of the Quarter-final ties, this Champions League semi-final draw promises to be even better. AS Roma pulled one of the greatest champions league comebacks. They stunned Barcelona 3-0 at home after losing 4-1 at the Camp Nou. It would have been a similar story for Real Madrid if not for a controversial 93^rd minute penalty awarded to them against Juventus.

UEFA Champions League Semi-final draw In Full

• Liverpool Vs AS Roma (24 April & 2 May)
• FC Bayern Munich Vs Real Madrid (25 April & 1 May)

Key Facts

• Having become the first side to win back-to-back titles in the UEFA Champions League era last season, Real Madrid want to be the first club since Bayern (1974–76) to claim three successive European Cups. Ajax also won three in a row between 1971 and 1973, while Madrid hold the all-time record having won the first five finals.
• Bayern v Real Madrid will meet for the 25th and 26th time in Europe, making it the most-played UEFA competition tie.
• Liverpool will move ahead of Bayern and Barcelona to six European Cup titles with victory in Kyiv. Only AC Milan (7) and Real Madrid (12) have managed more.
• Jupp Heynckes has a 100% record of reaching UEFA Champions League finals. In his three previous campaigns, he triumphed with Real Madrid (1997/98) and Bayern (2012/13), also finishing runner-up with the Bavarians in 2011/12.
• Roma aim to become the 23rd team to lift the European Cup, and the fourth from Italy.

Also See: Top 30 Football Clubs In the World

All you need to know: Liverpool v Roma

Head-to-head

Played: 5
Liverpool wins: 2 (5 goals)
Roma wins: 1 (2 goals)
Draws: 2

Match facts

• Mohamed Salah returns to Roma after leaving for Liverpool in the summer. He has scored 29 Premier League goals this term, as many as he managed in two Serie A campaigns for the Giallorossi (14 and then 15).
• Edin Džeko scored three goals in 11 games against Liverpool during his four-and-a-half seasons at Manchester City, but none of them came in a victory. His overall record against the Reds was three wins, four draws and four defeats. Federico Fazio (Tottenham, 2014–16) and Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City, 2010–17) also have Premier League experience.
• Roma won their first three two-legged knockout ties against English clubs – but have since lost six out of six.
• Liverpool’s overall record against Italian clubs is W9 D5 L11; in two-legged knockout ties, they have won four and lost two.
• Džeko and Salah scored for Roma in a 2-1 friendly win against Liverpool in St Louis in August 2016. The Italian side had also been victorious when the teams met in Boston two years earlier, while in 2004 Liverpool were 2-1 victors in another US friendly in East Rutherford.

All you need to know: Bayern München v Real Madrid

Head-to-head

Played: 24
Bayern wins: 11 (36 goals)
Madrid wins: 11 (37 goals)
Draws: 2

Also See: Real Madrid Champions League Finals Records – Opponents, Year & Scores

Match facts

• The first leg is the 25th match between the sides, making it the most played fixture in UEFA club competition.
• This will be the sides’ seventh semi-final meeting. Bayern have won four to Real Madrid’s two so far.
• Madrid have won their last five matches against Bayern, scoring 13 goals and conceding four.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has seven goals in his last three appearances against Bayern – and nine in six matches overall.
• Toni Kroos began his career with Bayern, making over 200 appearances for the club before moving to Madrid in 2014.
• James Rodríguez is in the first of a two-year loan at Bayern from Madrid. Arjen Robben spent two seasons with the Merengues before moving to Germany in 2009, winning the Liga title in 2007/08.

What do you say about the UEFA Champions League Semi-final draw? Who do you think will make the finals? Let’s hear from you.