Last Word on Football brings you this preview of the two Champions League Quarter Final ties taking place on April 11 as four of Europe’s elite collide.
Champions League Quarter Final Primer
S.L. Benfica vs Inter Milan
When: Tuesday 11/04/2023 8pm
Where: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal
S.L. Benfica
Position in the league: 1st in the Primeira Liga
How did they get here?:
Benfica couldn’t have been blamed for wondering what they did to upset the footballing gods when they were drawn in Group H with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus (and Maccabi Haifa). However, they ended up earning two 1-1 draws in their encounters with PSG and beat Juventus both home and away. The top result was surely the match against the Serie A side in Lisbon as As Águias (The Eagles) found themselves 4-1 up against the Old Lady before the Italian outfit got two goals back to make it competitive. As a result, they topped their group and drew Club Brugge KV in the first knockout round who they easily dispatched 7-1 on aggregate to earn their place in the quarter-finals.
Key Player: João Mário
João Mário joined Benfica this season and was given the captain’s armband by manager Roger Schmidt. Since joining the Lisbon-based squad the right winger has scored 23 goals across all competitions, including six in the Champions League. Mário has also provided 8 assists with two coming in the Champions League. Can Inter Milan keep the 30-year-old off the score sheet across two legs?
Inter Milan
Position in the league: 5th in Serie A
How did they get here?:
Inter had to navigate quite a tricky group stage after being drawn in Group C alongside Bayern Munich and Barcelona (as well as Viktoria Plzen). Despite losing to Munich home and away they were able to beat Viktoria Plzen on both occasions they met. As a result, it all came down to the matches against the Catalan-based outfit to see who would emerge from the group as runners-up. Inter won 1-0 at home and looked to have done the double over the Blaugrana until Robert Lewandowski scored a 92nd-minute equaliser – however, the 3-3 draw was ultimately enough to see the Italians through. Internazionale then managed to squeak past FC Porto winning 1-0 on aggregate.
Key Player: Lautaro Martínez
The Nerazzurri have struggled to generate a consistent attacking threat and Martínez, like much of the squad, has failed to hit the heights of the last few seasons however he still remains their most potent attacking talent. He’s scored 16 goals for the side this season but only one of those has come in the Champions League. If Inter wants to get past a confident and talented Benfica side they will need to score goals and the 25-year-old Argentinian seems like the player most likely to do it.
Manchester City vs Bayern Munich
When: Tuesday 11/04/2023 8pm
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Manchester City
Position in the league: 2nd in the Premier League
How did they get here?:
City were drawn alongside Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen in a group that, while it had the potential for a few shocks, many would have expected them to win comfortably. Which they did. The only surprise result was a 0-0 draw away against Copenhagen, although Sergio Gomez’s red card in the thirtieth minute may have had something to do with it. In the round of 16 the Citizens were drawn against RB Leipzig. The tie looked to be on a knife’s edge following the tense 1-1 draw in Leipzig but Erling Haaland had other ideas as he scored 5 goals alone to help City see off Die Roten Bullen 8-1 on aggregate.
Key Player: Kevin De Bruyne
There is no denying that Haaland will be crucial if they are to be successful as he does the hardest thing in football, score goals, arguably better than anyone else right now. However, De Bruyne is the leader and metronome of Pep Guardiola’s side that like to build up slowly in order to choke off space and territory before striking with terrifying pace and efficiency. And no one better demonstrates these two sides than the 31-year-old who in one instance can look to be walking around slightly uninterested before finding a seemingly impossibly angled pass through the heart of a defence to a cutting winger or firing in a pinpoint cross-straight onto Haaland’s head. Expect the Norwegian to score City’s goals but De Bruyne to create them.
Bayern Munich
Position in the league: 1st in the Bundesliga
How did they get here?:
In the group stage, Bayern looked as imperious as football fans have come to expect winning all six of their matches including those against fellow quarter-finalists Inter Milan. They were then drawn against PSG in the last 16 and on paper looked comfortable winning 1-0 away from home and 2-0 back home at the Allianz Arena. However, better finishing from the French powerhouse could have landed the German side in hot water. But, they ultimately triumphed over a serious contender and will now look to repeat the feat in the quarter-finals. Can newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel hit the ground running?
Key Player: Thomas Muller
Thomas Tuchel is the new head coach of Bayern Munich following Julian Nagelsmann’s shock firing by the German giants and so far he has overseen three games. Given how small this sample size is it’s hard to know exactly what to expect however it appears that Tuchel has moved to a 4-2-3-1 formation and restored Muller as the number 10 at the expense of Nagelsmann’s favourite Jamal Musiala. The 33-year-old remains one of the best in the world at finding little pockets of space in front of the opposition’s defence and causing all kinds of issues.
