2022/23 Champions League Semi-Finalists: Real Madrid, Manchester City, AC Milan, and Inter

UEFA.com presents the four teams qualified for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

UEFA coefficient ranking: 11
This season: 5V 3E 2D 16GF 10GC
Group C: Second classified
round of 16: 1-0 aggregate win against Porto
Quarter finals: 5-3 aggregate win against Benfica
Last season: round of 16 (loss 2-1 on aggregate against Liverpool)
Best performance in the European Cup: champion (1963/64, 1964/65, 2009/10)

His campaign so far
While Inter have had regularity problems in Serie A, the ‘Nerazzurri’ have not stopped playing well in the Champions League. They managed to qualify in a strong group, which also included Bayern and Barcelona, ​​and now they have reached the semifinals after eliminating two dangerous teams like Porto and Benfica, with two solid performances and two clean sheets thanks to great saved by goalkeeper André Onana.

Why can they go all the way?
Because this Inter seems designed to give their best in important games. One only has to look at their results in all competitions in 2023. The ‘Nerazzurri’ have recently lost against Empoli, Bologna, Spezia and Monza in Serie A, but have beaten Napoli, Milan (twice) , to Porto and now to Benfica. And between now and the final on June 10 in Istanbul, the remaining matches will only be of two types: big or huge.

How does Inter play?
The system is a 3-5-2, in which the wingers must cover the entire band. Unsurprisingly, Inzaghi often substitutes for both during matches, with Matteo Darmian and Robin Gosens serving as good alternative options to Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco. One of the three midfielders is a deep playmaker: Hakan Çalhanoğlu is now preferred over Marcelo Brozović for this role. The other two midfielders, Nicolò Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, lead the pressure and support the attackers. Romelu Lukaku is still far from his best condition, but Inter and Inzaghi fans hope that he will return soon to form the lethal ‘Lu-La’ pairing with Lautaro Martínez.

Entrepreneur: Simone Inzaghi
Winner of Serie A and three Italian Cups as a Lazio player, the 46-year-old also brought a domestic cup to Rome during his five seasons in charge. He replaced Antonio Conte in 2021 and won the Super Cup and the Italian Cup in his first season in charge of the team.

Key player: Lautaro Martinez
Nicknamed ‘El Toro’, Martínez finished the 2021/22 campaign with 25 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions, his best harvest since joining Milan from Racing Club in 2018. He formed a prolific partnership with Lukaku, who returned from Chelsea but he did not play much in the first half of the season due to injury. Will this dangerous duo return when it’s needed most?

Did you know?
Inzaghi is the sixth Inter coach to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, the first since José Mourinho in 2010.

UEFA coefficient ranking : 1
This season: 6V 4E 0D 26GF 4GC
Group G: primer classified
round of 16: 8-1 aggregate win against Leipzig
Quarter finals: 4-1 aggregate win against Bayern
Last season: semi-finals (loss 6-5 on aggregate against Real Madrid)
Best performance in the European Cup: runner-up (2020/21)

His campaign so far
City were quick to secure a place in the round of 16 for the tenth consecutive season, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for Pep Guardiola’s star-studded side. In September, they needed a spectacular goal from the prolific Erling Haaland to turn the tables against Dortmund, before playing over an hour with ten men in a goalless draw in Copenhagen. After a subdued performance in the first leg of the round of 16 against Leipzig, Haaland scored a record five goals in the second leg, before adding another two to his personal tally in the resounding quarter-final win against Bayern .

Why can they go all the way?
City have at their disposal one of the most astute managers in the world of football, a phenomenal squad and one of the best strikers of his generation. Why not lift the trophy in Istanbul in June? There are no guarantees in a competition in which small details are usually decisive, but Guardiola’s team fears no one. With luck on his side, the first Champions League could be just around the corner.

How do Man City play?
John Stones’ role as part of the double pivot in a 3-2-4-1 system has allowed City to exert even greater control when in possession, which is most of the time. Sealing their opponents in their own half with a high defensive line, City circulate the ball with his trademark ease until the relentless pressure takes its toll. Unlike last season, in which Guardiola often played with a false nine, the ‘Citizens’ now have the most prolific striker to finish off their plays.

Coach: Josep Guardiola
The 51-year-old, one of football’s most decorated, has won this competition twice with Barcelona, ​​but will be eager to end a 12-year wait for a third win. He won three league titles with both the Catalan club and Bayern, and won four Premier League winners’ medals with City following the one achieved in 2021/22.

Key Player: Kevin De Bruyne
Haaland would be the obvious choice – 48 goals this season make him a very influential player, after all – but De Bruyne remains a talismanic figure, contributing a steady supply of chances for the relentless Norwegian. The 31-year-old midfielder has assisted 23 goals in all competitions this season, the most by him in a single season with the English club.

Did you know?
At 22 years and 272 days old, and after only 27 games, Haaland was both the youngest player and the fastest to reach 35 goals in the Champions League.

UEFA coefficient ranking: 36
This season: 5V 3E 2D 15GF 8GC
Group E: Second classified
round of 16: 1-0 aggregate win against Tottenham
Quarter finals: 2-1 aggregate win against Napoli
Last season: group stage (fourth place)
Best performance in the European Cup: champion (1962/63, 1968/69, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1993/94, 2002/03, 2006/07)

His campaign so far
Milan struggled against Chelsea in the group stage, but comfortably secured second place and a place in the round of 16, picking up victories at the San Siro and away. The ‘rossoneri’ took advantage of playing in front of their fans to beat Tottenham and Napoli in the first leg, and showed their defensive solidity by conceding just one goal in these four games.

Why can it go all the way?
Milan is a fluid and attacking team. He is very flexible and knows how to adapt to his opponents, which means that he plays to his own strengths, but also to the opponent’s weaknesses. Add to the mix a fantastic striker in Rafael Leão and a nearly unbeatable goalkeeper in Mike Maignan, and Stefano Pioli’s men are a test for anyone.

How does Milan play?
Milan are a flexible team with an attacking mentality, capable of building from behind and going on the counter. Their basic systems are 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-2-1, with attacking full-backs, dynamic midfielders and three or four attacking players. Rafael Leão and Theo Hernández combine perfectly on the left, while in defence, the Rossoneri have quick centre-backs and press high up to help get the ball out.

Entrepreneur: Stefano Pioli
The former defender has won over skeptics at Milan with his calm, laid-back approach since taking over in 2019. He led the Rossoneri to the Champions League after a seven-year absence in 2020/21 and flirted with the Scudetto before lead the club to its first national title since 2011 last year.

Key player: Rafael Leão
Milan owe a lot to Maignan, decisive against Spurs and Napoli, but the sky’s the limit for their star Portuguese striker, who time and time again is proving he makes a difference with his graceful runs, electric speed and marvelous technique.

Did you know?
Milan finished bottom of their Champions League group last season, the first time they had finished bottom of a section since 2000.

UEFA coefficient ranking: 5
This season: 8V 1E 1D 25GF 7GC
Group F: first ranked
round of 16: 6-2 aggregate win against Liverpool
Quarter finals: 4-0 aggregate win against Chelsea
Last season: champion (1-0 win against Liverpool)
Best performance in the European Cup: champion (1955/56, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1965/66, 1997/98, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17 , 2017/18, 2021/22)

His campaign so far
To a large extent, the white team has gone full steam ahead. Group F was competitive. Federico Valverde’s home-winning goal against Leipzig will live on in the memory, as will his brilliant display of relentlessness and coolness in beating Celtic 3-0 on the road after Karim Benzema’s injury. However, the best version of him came at Anfield. Scoring five goals in 46 minutes against a team of Liverpool’s class was a wonderful spectacle that made history. Less spectacular against Chelsea? Yes, but Rodrygo did the job.

Why can it go all the way?
Because that’s what this club exists for. Because this is “what we do”, as everyone would say, from the gardeners to the president, passing through some of the most spectacular footballers in the world. No club has a more explosive mix of desire, talent, know-how, expectation and “been here, seen this, done that” than Real Madrid. You should never doubt the defending champions.

How does Real Madrid play?
There really hasn’t been any system or idea change this season. Valverde usually plays “in the right field” of a forward of three, especially in the games in which Carlo Ancelotti wants extra help for the center of the field and on the right side. However, the integration of Aurélien Tchouaméni has been quite spectacular, the maturity of Eduardo Camavinga has been very effective and, although Benzema has not accumulated so many games this season, his association with Vinícius Júnior continues to be of the first level. Late goals and good performances off the bench have become his hallmarks.

Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
The manager who led Madrid to “La Décima” in 2014 returned for a second spell in charge in the summer of 2021 and rewrote the history books by becoming the first manager to win the European Cup/UEFA Champions League four times. . Furthermore, last season he won the league title, making him the first coach to win championships in Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain.

Key Player: Vinícius Junior
Benzema, not to mention Thibaut Courtois, continues to be crucial. However, when a coach with Ancelotti’s know-how, experience and judgment declares that in his number 20 he has “the most decisive player in the world”, who could oppose the idea that Vinícius, that wonderful and speedy forward Brazilian, is he the key player of Real Madrid?

Did you know?
Real Madrid became the first team to make 300 UEFA Champions League appearances in the second leg against Liverpool.