Real Madrid and Barcelona, road to the semi-finals: UEFA Champions League
The two Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona will face off each other in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in what is anticipated to be the nail-biting El Classico. The two teams will lock horns on Wednesday, April 27 at the Bernabeu.
The Catalan giants were placed in Group D alongside FC Kobenhavn, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos. Madrid found themselves in Group G alongside AC Milan, Ajax and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AJ-Auxerre-c38247.
In the group phases, Barcelona registered four wins out of the six matches they played while two games ended in a draw. Madrid recorded five wins out of the same number of matches while one ended in a draw. The group stages were played over the two
legs.
Barcelona started their campaign with a mighty 5-1 win over Panathinaikos and defeated them by a 3-0 margin in the reverse fixture. Rubin Kazan held them to a 1-1 draw when Pep Guardiola’s side travelled to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Russia-c2991, but tasted a 2-0 defeat when the
same sides met at Camp Nou. Kobenhavn were defeated by a 2-0 margin in the first leg but managed to get a draw out of their reverse fixture played in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Denmark-c2884. This way, Barcelona stayed undefeated in their group and finished on top with 14 points.
Real Madrid started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Ajax and then increased the margin to 4-0 when the sides met in the reverse fixture. Then Madrid travelled to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 to take on AJ Auxerre and came back with a 1-0 win. Madrid proved to be fatal
hosts for the French side and netted four goals past them when the sides met at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho’s men then hosted the Serie A leaders AC Milan and registered a 2-0 win. Milan were able to hold back Madrid to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture. In
this way Madrid also finished top of their group with 16 points.
Both the foes advanced into the round-of-16 with Barcelona having to lock heads with English Premier League side, Arsenal, and Madrid were to take on the French side, Olympique Lyon. This round was also played over the two legs on home and away basis.
Barcelona travelled at the Emirates to take on Arsenal in the first leg, but ended on a losing side after the Gunners recorded a 2-1 win. Barca though went away with one precious away goal. The reverse fixture was easily snapped up by Barcelona after
the Catalan giants notched up a 3-1 win over Arsene Wenger’s army. Guardiola’s men advanced through to the last eight of the competition, beating Arsenal 4-3 on aggregate.
Real Madrid on the other hand, travelled to France to take on Lyon and Mourinho’s men had to contend with a 1-1 draw. The reverse fixture took place at the Bernabeu and Madrid emerged as easy winners on the night, beating Lyon 3-0 and 4-1 on aggregate.
This also granted Los Blancos a place in the quarter-finals.
Real Madrid took on Champions League debutant Tottenham Hotspur while Barcelona had to break the barrier applied by Shakhtar Donetsk in the last eight.
Madrid thumped the Spurs 4-0 in the first leg of the tie played at the Bernabeu while the reverse leg ended 1-0 in the Whites favour. This 5-0 aggregate gifted Real, a place in the semi-finals as they waited for their opponents.
Barcelona made hay against Shakhtar and collected a 5-1 win in the first leg played at Camp Nou. Return leg demanded a lot out of Shakhtar’s troops and as expected they weren’t up for it. As a result Barcelona defeated the Ukrainian side 1-0. This
6-1 aggregate ensured that Real Madrid and Barcelona would face off each other for a place in the finals where they could take on either Manchester United or Schalke 04.
The two rivals will now compete in the semi-final of the Champions League, with the first leg to be played at the Bernabeu on April 27 and the return leg to be played at Camp Nou on May3. The final of the competition will take place on May 28 at the
Wembley.
Barcelona last won this competition in 2008-09 beating Manchester United in the final and overall they have won it on three occasions. Los Blancos last won the Champions League in 2001-02 beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the finals and overall they
have won the competition nine times.
The last time these two teams met in the semi-final of the same competition, Madrid came out on top in 2001-02. Barcelona would certainly be hoping to get their act right and turn the tides this time around on Los Blancos.
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