Two English, two Spanish, two German, one Italian and one French. No, it’s not the beginning of a joke but the nationality of the 8 clubs that in just under a month will go hunting for a pass to the Champions League semifinals. The round of 16 has just ended and, as was the case in the play-offs, there were plenty of surprises. For example, there was the shock elimination of Liverpool, who had dominated the new League Phase from start to finish, automatically becoming the main candidate for the final victory.
But Salah and his teammates came up against Luis Enrique’s PSG, who overall played better than the Reds in the first and second leg, winning on penalties. The penalty kicks, however, once again rewarded Real Madrid, the reigning European champions: Carlo Ancelotti’s Blancos emerged victorious from the battle to the death with city rivals Atletico, cheated by the penalty canceled by the VAR to Atletico striker Julian Alvarez. The dream of a “sixteenth” is therefore still intact for Real, who are still in the running on three fronts and who will not be dethroned easily despite the frequent ups and downs.
The only Italian team left is Inter. The Nerazzurri had no problem taming Feyenoord, Milan’s executioner in the play-offs, but now they will have to prove they are up to the task against the onslaught of Bayern Munich, who made short work of their compatriots Bayer Leverkusen, beaten twice in the space of seven days.
Champions League winner 2025, Barcelona favorite for Opta
But what are Simone Inzaghi’s chances of lifting the cup in the final in Munich? According to the verdict of the Opta Supercomputer, not very many: in this special ranking, Inter are fourth, with a 16.4% chance of taking home what would be their fourth big-eared cup.
Surprisingly, ahead of the Nerazzurri are Barcelona, PSG and Arsenal. The blaugrana, who will face Borussia Dortmund in the quarter finals, are the main favorites according to the “supercomputer”, with 20.4%. Behind them is Luis Enrique’s PSG, who have relaunched their candidacy after having taken on the steamroller Liverpool: the Parisians should not fail in their semi-final goal against former Unai Emery’s outsider Aston Villa. Then there’s Arsenal, which the Supercomputer clearly considers favorites in the two-legged tie against Real Madrid, only fifth behind Inter, with 13.6% to go through and be crowned European champions for the second year in a row. The Blancos were therefore sensationally snubbed. The ranking is completed by Bayern Munich (9.7%), Aston Villa (2.8%) and Borussia Dortmund (1%).