After last night’s fixtures, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool and Real Madrid know that Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are waiting for them in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semi-finals.
With two more games to go in the quarter-finals, we take a look at what last night’s games mean going forward and what to do with your UCL Fantasy teams ahead of this evening’s match-ups.
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Last Night’s Action
Chelsea’s performance in their 1-0 loss to Porto wasn’t sparkling but it did show heart, grit and efficiency in seeing off the Portuguese side on aggregate. In a game with only three shots on target, Thomas Tuchel’s Blues won the tie overall thanks to their defensive efficiency and were a 94th-minute Mehdi Taremi wondergoal away from their fourth consecutive UCL clean sheet. They will undoubtedly be well set up for whichever opposition come their way in the semi-finals, in what will likely be a low-scoring affair. Their defence, and defensive midfield, is still worth far more investment than their forwards. Jorginho’s (€6.2m) 12 balls recovered highlights his value and high baseline of points.
PSG also lost on the night but, like the Blues, came out as aggregate winners against Bayern Munich in one of the best UCL games of recent years. Even with a decimated defence, Mauricio Pochettino’s men did remarkably well to keep Europe’s premier attacking side to one goal and were unbelievably unlucky not to score a goal of their own. They will have more firepower ahead of the semi-finals and Neymar (€11.6m) and Kylian Mbappé (€11.1m) will be looking to build on their brilliant quarter-final performances.
Tonight’s Games
Owners of Chelsea and PSG defenders will be looking for replacements ahead of this evening, as well as for Bayern and PSG’s attacking superstars. Manchester City’s forward-thinking players seem like the best place to start against Borussia Dortmund’s notoriously poor defence. Kevin De Bruyne (€11.3m) was the star of the first leg and will be crucial if City are to hold on in this tie. Dortmund have a knack of scoring at least once a game and City will be well aware of this, possibly prioritising their attack over their backline as a result. Ilkay Gundogan (€6.7m), Phil Foden (€7.1m) and Riyad Mahrez (€8.9m) are all great options who look set to start for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Liverpool v Real Madrid match-up is incredibly hard to call, so focus on the attackers over the defenders. Marco Asensio (€7.9m), Vinícius Júnior (€7.9m) and Karim Benzema (€10.4m) all well placed to score high after their first-leg performances, while Diogo Jota (€7.9m) and Mo Salah (€11.8m) will be key to Liverpool’s chances of a comeback. Trent Alexander-Arnold (€6.8m) is also coming into this game in fine form after his late winner sealed all three Premier League points at the weekend.
The best captaincy options from this evening come from Manchester City. Despite their home defeat to Leeds United at the weekend, this will be a full-strength side that knows how to win. De Bruyne looks to be the best pick, with Foden a great potential differential choice.
