Champions League semi-final preview: Madrid bank on experience against Chelsea; City, PSG vie for first title

Following the turmoil that European football was plunged into last week, it's sort of a miracle that the Champions League semi-finals are still on course to take place. Three of the four clubs in the semis, namely Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City, were involved in the dastardly plot to break away and form their own little European Super League. In the immediate aftermath of their announcement, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin issued thinly-veiled threats to the trio, and stated that they would be booted out of the tournament, but with two of the three clubs having pulled out of the ESL, that looks unlikely to happen, not yet at least.

Of course, seeing as Real Madrid's head honcho Florentino Perez is currently engaged in an insane PR battle against UEFA, in which he has insinuated that the football body covertly hired protesters, there's no guarantee that the Champions League will progress without any hiccups. So ahead of what could be the last action from the Champions League for the season, let's take a quick look at the major talking points ahead of the first leg semi-final matches.

Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Can Chelsea's defence be breached?

Thomas Tuchel's arrival at Chelsea has seemingly transformed Stamford Bridge into a defensive stronghold overnight, and barring one pretty terrible performance against West Bromwich Albion, they've been a tough nut to crack. For reference, in the time since Tuchel's tenure began, Chelsea have kept about half as many clean sheets (16) across all competitions as Real Madrid have scored goals (29).

Chelsea celebrate after scoring against West Ham. AP

The transition in formation from a typical centre-back pairing to a three-man defence has made the Blues' backline nigh impregnable, with the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta flourishing in the new system. The wing-back duo of Reece James and Ben Chilwell are also capable of playing a more defensive role when called upon, and to top it all off, Tuchel also has the industrious N'Golo Kante acting as a screen in front of the defence.

Real Madrid's experience

The one thing that Real Madrid have that none of the remaining teams do is experience in the latter stages of the tournament. Yes, Paris Saint-Germain did reach the final last season, but it was the first time they had done so, and the only other time that they made it to the semi-finals. Also yes, Chelsea have won a Champions League title before, but that was all the way back in May 2012, about three months before their longest-serving current player and club captain Azpilicueta joined the club.

In contrast, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Nacho Fernandez and Raphael Varane were all part of Madrid's dominant spell in the competition, and most, if not all of them, continue to be crucial cogs in the first-team set-up. While Ramos will be missed, having been sidelined with a calf injury and a subsequent positive COVID-19 test, Madrid have more than enough experience in their squad to see them through this fixture.

Eden Hazard - The Story Writes Itself

The stage is set for Eden Hazard to shine. After enduring a torrid first two seasons at Real Madrid, with almost as many injuries as games played, he's fit just in time to face his old club. Hazard made his return for Real Madrid against Real Betis in a goalless draw, coming on late in the second half. Despite playing only around 15 minutes, he almost set up a winner, playing a lovely one-two with Benzema before putting Vinicius Jr through on goal. It was a great opportunity for Madrid to take the lead, but the young Brazilian slipped and squandered the chance.

Eden Hazard played the last 15 minutes of Real Madrid's draw against Real Betis. AP

While it's unlikely that he will start the first leg, the spotlight is well and truly on him, and if he were to come on and score, it could be the perfect way to change the narrative of his time at Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester City

Who wants it more?

Manchester City really, really want to get their hands on ol' big ears, but in the grand scheme of things, they could probably go without it this season. They're well on track to win the Premier League comfortably, barring a catastrophic implosion, and they've already claimed the EFL Cup for a fourth successive season. Pep Guardiola's project is well and alive, in spite of a slight bump last season, and even if City don't win the Champions League, their 2020-21 campaign can objectively be termed a success.

On the other hand, for Paris Saint-Germain, there's a lot riding on this tournament. At the moment, things look a bit bleak for them in terms of domestic success, seeing as they currently trail Lille by a point with just four games left in the season. Lille's remaining fixtures are fairly straightforward, so PSG will have to pray for a huge slip-up from the league leaders if they have any hope of winning the Ligue 1 title. In the domestic cup competition, Paris Saint-Germain will face Montpellier in the semi-final, which they should win. However, should they do so and make it to the final, they will most likely meet Monaco, a team that has already beaten them twice in this season.

Paris Saint-Germain had a dominant win in the French Cup quarter-final, but a domestic title is far from guaranteed. AP

It's not too hard to draw parallels between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. Both clubs have incredibly wealthy Arab owners, a number of talented players and both teams have experienced immense domestic success in the past decade. Both clubs have also failed to win a European title however, and a Champions League title has long been the key aspiration. In this situation, with the teams more or less evenly-matched on paper, it will likely come down to who wants it more.

Are Manchester City stretched too thin?

This might be a ridiculous question in the context of Manchester City's current season, seeing as they just won the EFL Cup and as mentioned before, are on course to win another two trophies. Nonetheless, there's no denying that Guardiola's side has slowed down a bit in recent games, especially when you take their lofty standards into account. After having enjoyed an imperious winning streak in the middle of the season, the goals have dried up a little in the past month, and the last time they won by two goals or more was way back on 3 April. In that time, they have also lost twice, including a semi-final defeat in the FA Cup to Chelsea.

Up front, City have been far from impressive, and it's not for a lack of opportunities. With Sergio Aguero's injuries, they have relied on Gabriel Jesus to shine in the No 9 role, and to put it mildly, he has been a let-down, wasting chances and often over-complicating things. But of course, that's only half of the problem. Guardiola has also frequently opted to play a false 9, a la Lionel Messi in Barcelona, but the players occupying that central attacking space have lacked a cutting edge when presented with opportunities.

Manchester City celebrate after beating Tottenham in the EFL Cup final. AP

Defensively, things have not been perfect either, and despite maintaining a majority of possession in most of their games, City do look a bit vulnerable in front of pacy forwards. In their FA Cup game against Chelsea, for example, their defence was lacklustre and they were outrun and outmuscled by their opponents, who hit them time and again on the counter-attack. PSG's style of play is explosive and dynamic, requiring defensive players to put in a real shift when counter-pressing, something that City might not be able to pull off against PSG's fearsome frontline of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria.