UEFA Champions League Semi Final

Last night was the first of four semi final games in the UEFA champions league and saw Chelsea take on Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid gathering a crowd of over 52,000 fans. The champions league began with the first leg on the 18th February with a round of 16 followed by the quarter finals and now the semis. The four qualifying teams are Chelsea vs. Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid who will each play two games to determine the two qualifying teams for the final, which will be held in Lisbon on the 24th May.

Throughout the competition Atletico Madrid have scored 22 goals in total with 8 wins and 3 draws. Chelsea have accumulated 18 goals with 6 wins, 2 draws and 3 lost games.  Bayern Munich have achieved 24 goals with 6 wins, 2 draws and 3 lost games. Real Madrid have managed to gain 32 goals with 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 lost game.

Atletico Madrid have never previously made it this far in the UEFA champions league and have waited 40 years to reach the semi finals. Throughout the competition they have had a perfect home record until last night where both teams failed to score any goals.

Real Madrid are on excellent form and with Cristiano Ronaldo back in training after a knee injury, things are looking hopeful if the top goal scorer is fit to play again after missing the past four games. Real Madrid have been knocked out in the semi finals by German teams for the past 2 years and in 2012 Bayern Munich beat them on penalties to make it through to the finals.

Tonight, Real Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semi finals at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, kicking off at 20:45. Following this on the 29th and 30th April the second leg of the semis will commence with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid playing at the Allianz Arena in Munich and Chelsea taking on Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in London. The two teams with the most goals across the first and second leg of the semi finals will then go head to head in the final later in May.

Visit http://www.sportsdirect.com/football-shirts for SportsDirect.com’s full selection of football shirts.

Join in on the conversation at www.Facebook.com/SportsDirectUK or www.Twitter.com/SportsDirectUK