UEFA Champions League Power Rankings: Liverpool and Manchester City on a collision course for the final in Paris
Liverpool are in first place, with Unai Emery's Villarreal team in fourth place.
The Champions League's final four clubs are established in stone.
In many ways, this is the perfect foursome for a Champions League semifinal: The two strongest teams in Europe, the most successful club in this competition and the little team that could, who have already knocked European giants off their feet. Unai Emery and Carlo Ancelotti have led Spain to the last four the hard way, demonstrating that La Liga has a depth of tactical acumen that has lasted even as superstars have migrated to other leagues.Some of those were dispatched as Real Madrid dispatched PSG and then Chelsea, a run of victories possibly even more stunning than Villarreal's, but defeating Juventus and then stalling out Bayern Munich's attacking juggernaut is nothing to be sneered at.
Those numbers suggest that no one should expect an all-English final, but it does appear to be the most likely scenario. These two demonstrated on Sunday that they are capable of reaching a level that few others have. Due to their extraordinary talent and the kind of dizzying depth that allows Jurgen Klopp to rotate en masse for his second leg, they will start as favorites for their semifinals.The remaining Champions League clubs are ranked as follows:
1.Liverpool (—)
Super-powered offenses may have smashed into the Villarreal rock so far, but the Yellow Submarines haven't seen as many choices as Klopp has. Take the second leg against Benfica, for example, where Roberto Firmino scored a brace while Luis Diaz plotted, Kostas Tsimikas created numerous chances, and Naby Keita added dynamism to the midfield. That four is notable since none of them are expected to start the first leg of the semifinal, but they are among the players who could be tasked with reversing the tide if Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are unable to do it.The three goals they gave up to Darwin Nunez and his teammates were most likely the result of them taking their foot off the throttle after winning the tie. They just would not have allowed them to happen if Virgil van Dijk had started, regardless of the scoreline.
Manchester City is ranked second in the Premier League (—)
As previously said, these two teams are far ahead of the rest of the field, with a case to be made for City leading the way based on the manner in which they dominated their most recent Premier League game. If it came down to an all-English final, this column might give Pep Guardiola's team a modest edge if all other considerations like fitness and form were identical.
Real Madrid (+2) is third.
Both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea may believe that they were the better team during their matches against Real Madrid. Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, on the other hand, neither of them had. Both were game-changers in ties that appeared to be slipping away from Ancelotti's grasp, with the latter in particular appearing hell-bent on hauling his team to Paris.
In the knockout stages, Madrid has scored eight goals, with their No. 9 assisting on seven of them. They've amassed 5.25 xG, with 2.95 going to Benzema. In other words, one man is responsible for 56% of their picture quality. There are other outstanding players on this team, but their Frenchman's usefulness should be limited.
Villarreal (+3) is in fourth place.
This column frequently goes to considerable efforts to sound the death knell for small clubs whose success has been built on a defense that does not appear to be sustainable in the long run. This isn't the case. It goes without saying that Emery's Villarreal are a great defensive unit; if they can limit Bayern Munich to one goal over 180 minutes, they'll be a difficult nut to crack for Liverpool.Villarreal's defensive performances over the two matches were not a fluke. Bayern had only eight shots worth a combined 0.4 xG in the first half of the second leg, despite controlling possession and chasing the game. They hit shots worth 1.59 xG in the first match and 1.42 in the second. While those figures are impressive for an average club, they are among the Bundesliga champions' five lowest attacking output games in European and league play this season. Bayern had to settle for poor long-range efforts on a regular basis, as the shot chart above shows.It's still a tall order to expect Villarreal to duplicate the feat in the semifinal. Liverpool may be the only team with more attacking firepower than the Bavarians, but they'll need every ounce of it if they're going to get past El Submarino Amarillo.
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