The Champions League draw for the semis at the UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon has thrown up a couple of enticing ties on Friday. Defending champions Real Madrid will face their local rivals Atletico Madrid in what will be the fourth encounter between the two teams in the knockout stages of the competition since 2014. Juventus, on the other hand, will face French side AS Monaco.
Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 6-3 on aggregate in their quarter-final clash with the help of a controversial 4-2 win over the German champions in the second leg at the Allianz Arena earlier this week. The Spanish giants will now face Atletico Madrid in the semi-final with the first leg set to be played at the Bernabeu on May 2 while the second leg will be played at the Vicente Calderon on May 10.
Atletico got past Leicester City in the last round with Saul Niguez scoring the crucial away goal during a 1-1 draw in the second leg. They will now face their local rivals in what will be a rematch of the final of the last edition of the competition. Atletico have lost to Real Madrid in the final of the 2013-14 Champions League, in the quarters of the 2014-15 edition, and in the final of the last edition of the tournament.
In the second semi-final, Juventus, who put on a resolute performance to beat Barcelona 3-0 on aggregate in the last round, will face Monaco. The first leg of the tie will be played at the Stade Louis II Stadium on May 3 while the second leg in Turin will be played on May 9.
The French side defeated Borussia Dortmund 6-3 on aggregate in a tie overshadowed by the unfortunate incidents off the field. The last time Monaco reached this stage of the competition was back in 2004 when they lost in the final of the Champions League to Jose Mourinho’s Porto. However, they will have to pull off a big upset to get past a Juventus side that has conceded only two goals so far in their 10 outings in the Champions League this season.
The last time Juventus and Monaco faced each other was in the quarters of the 2014-15 season of the Champions League, which the Italian side won 1-0 on aggregate.
Image – Getty
