The UEFA Champions League path to London has been thoroughly planned, and the quarterfinals and semifinals have been drawn.
Now, it is a game of guessing which club will make it to the Champions League final. The quarterfinal draw is Europe’s best right now and will be very tight. Games are expected to go down to the wire.
There’s a lot of hope for the City fans who are regular with secondary market tickets. After winning the title last year, City is confident that they will win their quarterfinal game against Madrid.
Arsenal, Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid will compete, and PSG and Barcelona will prepare for an exciting encounter. For Barcelona, it is redemption season as they make their way to the quarterfinals after two disastrous campaigns in the last two years.
The Semifinals
According to the draw, the semifinals will have a match between City/ Real vs Bayern/ Arsenal, and the other will be between Atletico/ Dortmund vs PSG/ Barcelona.
Win ranking Predictor (least likely to win)
8- Dortmund
7- Paris Saint-Germain
6- Arsenal
5- Bayern Munich
4- Barcelona
3- Atletico Madrid
2- Real Madrid
1- Manchester City
While Real Madrid has had one of their best seasons in the domestic league, the face-off against Man City will be brutal. For City, in the absence of their key players, facing a ferocious Madrid outfit will be a mighty challenge.
While fans still remember the 4-0 thrashing by City against Madrid at the Etihad, this lien up from Madrid this year is different. Last year’s Real Madrid did not have the likes of Jude Bellingham, and it would be a massive threat for Pep Guardiola to plan for.
Atletico Madrid is a surprising one on the list, having been placed third. Many may not agree with this, but the reasons are purely down to their performance over Inter Milan (who, before elimination, were placed in third), and Atletico Madrid could surprise us.
Arsenal has done exceptionally to reach this point, but winning the competition seems quite a stretch.
Bayern Munich could be better in the Bundesliga, where they might be losing out on a title for the first time, but they have performed brilliantly in the Champions League. The confidence is low when it comes to winning the whole thing.
Bayern last won the UEFA Champions League in 2020, defeating PSG in the final. Since then they’ve not been fortunate of even making a final.
Dortmund winning the Champions League seems a little out of the question; even if they surpass Atletico Madrid in the QFS, their potential opponents would be favored over them.
Fourth is the best place right now for Barcelona, and as for Paris Saint-Germain, the odds won’t be too high in their favor.
Quarterfinals predictions
Real Madrid vs Man City – City W
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich – Arsenal W
Atletico Madrid vs Dortmund – Atletico W
PSG vs Barcelona – PSG W
Semifinals predictions
Man City vs Arsenal
Atletico Madrid vs PSG
Final prediction
Atletico Madrid vs Man City
2022 Final Closure
Years after the 2022 UEFA Champions League final was played between Liverpool and Real Madrid, UEFA reached a confidential settlement to compensate Liverpool fans for personal injury claims from the dangerous chaos at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.
Fans with Champions League and secondary market tickets from the platform faced a near-mass catastrophe regarding safety and security, and UEFA was held responsible.
Police held thousands of fans in crushed queues before the game and used tear gas outside the stadium. Within this time, with improper security protocol, several individuals were robbed outside the stadium after the game by residents.
In an official release, UEFA added that it made a final settlement with the fans, who were represented by two law firms in Liverpool, considering the difficulties they faced during the final.
“The settlement agreement has been made without any admission of liability,” UEFA added in a statement.
A failed security operation involving French police and local authorities saw tens of thousands of fans held in poorly organized queues for hours before the game at the 75,000-capacity stadium, a key venue for the Paris Olympics.
Several fans were fired with tear gas as the final was delayed for more than 40 minutes. Inside the stadium, UEFA balked at the late-arriving fans for the delay.
Falsely blaming Liverpool fans for arriving late was hugely insensitive, as police and authorities used the same excuse in England to evade responsibility for the Hillsborough stadium tragedy in 1989 that killed 97 people in a crash. Liverpool fans have campaigned against the injustice for decades.
After Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in Paris, dozens of fans were robbed leaving the stadium by residents in the Saint-Denis neighborhood.
All those who had secondary market tickets were furious. And this started the motive for compensation.
The Liverpool law firms, Pogust Goodhead and Bingham Long said UEFA’s offer of compensation “has been accepted, and the supporters welcome this.”
“Following constructive discussions, UEFA has offered our clients compensation for the difficulties and challenges they faced at the game,” the legal firms said, adding they would not deduct fees from the compensation.
It was unclear on Friday if there were any legal claims by Real Madrid fans. The improper security measures also affected the fans from Real Madrid, but no clear individuals were coming forward.
Earlier last year, the Spanish club rejected UEFA’s offer of ticket price refunds and offered to help fans pursue legal action.
French police were blamed in the UEFA-commissioned investigation for wrongly assuming Liverpool fans posed a threat to public order and for using “weaponry” like tear gas and pepper spray. The head of the Paris police operation at the game retired about six weeks later.
UEFA senior management was blamed for the poor oversight of the delegation in security planning.
Following the drama in the 2022 final, UEFA used the lessons to improve its planning for the following year’s final in Istanbul and make all arrangements for a smooth EURO 2024.
