Champions League Draw 2014-15: List of Fixtures, Dates for Semi-Finals and Final
Real Madrid's bid to become the first team to defend their Champions League crown will continue with a semi-final showdown against Juventus.
Friday's draw was always going to throw up two tasty fixtures, with heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern Munich also being pitted against each other. Here's confirmation of the selection, per the tournament's official Twitter account:
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Real will travel to Juve on May 5 and welcome the Italian side to Spain on May 13. Barcelona will host Bayern on May 6, with the return leg taking place May 12, per UEFA.
The two semi-final winners will proceed to June 6's final, which is to be held in Berlin's iconic Olympiastadion. As always, both semi-finals will encompass two legs—one home and away—with the away goals ruling in effect if needed.
Semi-Final Round-up
Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
It was always destined to happen. Pep Guardiola, the man who led Barca to an era of success (including two Champions League trophies), will return to the Camp Nou for a showdown with his former club.
The tournament's social feed suggests he should be excited:
Former Blaugrana striker Gary Lineker confirmed he'll be tuning in:
Barca vice-president Jordi Mestre welcomed Guardiola back, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC:
Bayern previously destroyed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate at this stage two years ago. A repeat of this is highly unlikely, particularly as Barca have found a stretch of rampant form under Luis Enrique. The attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez ensures Barca have the tools to outscore anyone.
Henry Winter of The Telegraph is looking forward to seeing how Bayern's defence copes:
Guardiola will be wary of this, particularly after seeing his team concede three away to Porto. Although his side's recent second-leg heroics made up for this—few were expecting a 7-4 aggregate turnaround—Barca won't let such an advantage slip.
Bayern's recent spate of injuries has seen stars like Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm miss vital playing time. The majority of them will need to be fit if an increasingly confident Barca side are going to be toppled.
Juventus vs. Real Madrid
After conceding four during their round-of-16 ties with Schalke, Real will be pleased to have kept Atletico Madrid scoreless in the quarter-finals. Carlo Ancelotti's men continued probing until the very last moment during the recent Bernabeu second leg, emerging victorious through Javier Hernandez's last-gasp winner.
Atletico can be accused of playing to survive. Juventus are likely to employ similarly defensive tactics in what should be a strategic couple of matches. The competition's feed highlighted a tight head-to-head record between the European giants:
Corrigan pointed out Madrid's recent struggles against Serie A sides:
The holders have so far found a way to win when it mattered. Like we've seen with Barca, their attacking power has a tendency to prevail. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale will pose the toughest challenge Massimiliano Allegri's side have faced all season.
Juventus are well-organised and eternally hard to break down. It's been 11 matches since they conceded more than one goal, per Soccerway, meaning Real will need to remain patient. The Turin-based first leg is likely to be a feeling-out process for Los Blancos, who will bank on taking care of business at the Bernabeu.
This tie will see former Juve boss Ancelotti return to his old club. Alvaro Morata, who Madrid sold to Juve in the summer, is also destined to grab attention. Madrid director Emilio Butragueno discussed the tie, per Corrigan:
We can expect plenty of top-quality entertainment in both matches.
The prospect of a Madrid vs. Barcelona final still lingers and is perhaps the ultimate test of quality for Ancelotti's side, who want to make history by retaining the trophy.
