The first leg of the UEFA Champions League’s semifinal games begin on Tuesday.
With the tournament now dwindling down to four of the best teams in the world, many of the big names – like Manchester City, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and FC Barcelona – have been eliminated.
Still standing in the competition now are Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Dortmund.
Real Madrid, the fan favorite and 14-time champion, has made it into their 17th semifinal game after a staggering penalty win over Manchester City. They are facing the German team Bayern Munich, who found their place with a 3-2 aggregate win over Arsenal.
Madrid is growing in popularity, with their new number 5 player, one of Europe’s most talented midfielders, Jude Bellingham. However, Bayern is a force to be reckoned with as well, with Harry Kane being the second-highest goal scorer in the tournament with seven goals.
The two rivals will once meet for the 27th time, in what soccer fanatics call the European Clásico. So far Real Madrid has won 12 of the clásicos, and Bayern is close behind with 11 wins, with the rest of the 3 games ending in draws.
On the other side of the table, the second German team in the semifinals, Dortmund, plays against France’s PSG. With a 5-4 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid, Dortmund has managed to unexpectedly stay in the competition as the underdogs, and they are back in the semis for the first time since 2013.
Dortmund is facing PSG, which made it to the semis with a wild comeback win against Barcelona. After his team’s 3-2 loss in the first leg of the quarter finals, the number one goal scorer in the tournament, Kylian Mbappe, carried his team to a 4-1 win in the second leg with two goals.
This game will be tight, with Dortmund and PSG facing each other again for the first time since their 1-1 tie back in December during the early group stages of the tournament.
With rumors that Mbappe will be joining Real Madrid next season, this could make for an interesting final when or if the teams meet.
The first and second legs of the semifinals will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, May 7, and May 8, with the final being on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London.
