The semi-final ties of the Champions League have been drawn, setting up the competition up for an exciting end with some enticing matches. Title holders Real Madrid will face their fierce city rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-final while Monaco will take on Juventus in the other semi-final. The Road to Cardiff has just got more interesting !
Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have faced each other two times in last three finals with Real Madrid winning both the finals. Last season’s finalists Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will meet for the fourth successive season when they both lock horns together in the semi-final leg 1 on May 2nd 2017.
Real Madrid have not lost any of the two matches against their neighbours Atletico Madrid in the Spanish League this season. Champions League title holders Real Madrid will be aiming to retain the title once again; they will be the first side since 1990 to retain Europe’s top club prize if they win the Champions League this season. Atletico Madrid are yet to win the competition.
Meanwhile free scoring Monaco will face Juventus in the second semi-final. The League 1 leaders will face the most defensive team in the Europe in Juventus who have conceded only two goals in the tournament so far. Monaco were knocked out of the Champions League two times by the Italian champions, once in the semi-finals of 1997-1998 and the other was in the quarter-finals two years ago.
Monaco’s best run in the Champions League was in the year 2004 when they reached in the final but could not win the Champions League. Monaco v/s Juventus fixture will see the best attacking team against the best defensive team in the Europe at least statistically. Juventus who have won two Champions League titles and will try to defeat the French rivals and proceed to the finals to win their third title.
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Both the semi-final fixtures are mouth-watering and with the final stages of the tournament nicely poised it will be interesting whether Madrid regains the title successfully, Juventus will increase their Champions League titles count to three or we have a new winner this time in the form of Atletico Madrid or Monaco.
