Looking at the Final Four: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
For how inconsistent Real Madrid were this season, they can find themselves in the final at Milan come May. They arguably have been given the most favorable draw in the semis, as Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid pose very strong threats to their campaign. Nevertheless, Manchester City are not a team to be underestimated either. They were overall a better side than an incredible PSG team over 180 minutes of football. With Kevin De Bruyne coming back, Manchester City look much more revitalized. Sergio Aguero is also in form, scoring a hat trick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in one of their most recent matches. Still, Real Madrid should be favorites here. They have much more experience at this stage, having won the competition two seasons ago, while City have absolutely none as a team.  This will be Pellegrini’s greatest test yet, and their have been more than enough question marks about his managing capabilities throughout the season. Cristiano Ronaldo is looking back to best, with the likes of Bale and Benzema becoming more prominent in matches. Ultimately, this is a tie that should guarantee plenty of goals, with Real ultimately scoring the lion’s share between the two.
Real Madrid 60 – 40 Manchester City

Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
The two teams that haven’t met each other in the modern era look to have two of the most clashing styles in the competition. Atletico Madrid’s incredible defense against Bayern Munich’s possession oriented and offensive capabilities; Diego Simeone’s doggedness vs Pep Guardiola’s perfectionism. Atletico have already defeated this season’s favorites in Barcelona and now will face what many to be the next in line to be favored to win everything. Bayern Munich will ultimately have to deal with Atletico being behind the ball and relying on the goal scoring exploits of Griezzman to carry themselves through. With Bayern’s vulnerable defense, this can pose a problem, and will hope that Jerome Boateng will recover in time for the semifinals. Atletico Madrid have the tools to turn over the German side and head into the finals once again. Overall, Bayern would be slight favorites, because they have more tools than their opponents to pass the semifinals. However, it would highly depend on the form of both sides on the day. On paper with the talent and combination of tactics employed they are relatively equal, either can be in Milan come May.
Atletico Madrid 45 – 55 Bayern Munich

Michael Skok
Football Editor for
Polish-American Portal www.Poland.us
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