New on Sports Illustrated: LIVE: Real Madrid, Chelsea Meet in Champions League Semifinal First Leg

-

Real Madrid is seeking a fifth Champions League title in eight seasons, while Chelsea is looking to return to the final for the first time since winning it all in 2012.

View the
original article to see embedded media.

In a clash between two giants dealing with Super League fallout, Real Madrid will host Chelsea at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in the first leg of the UEFA Champions semifinals.

Six months ago it might have seemed unrealistic to see either side in Europe's final four, but Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and Real legend Zinedine Zidane have led stunning turnarounds at their respective clubs in the new year. 

Despite missing a chance to top the La Liga table this weekend in a scoreless draw with Real Betis, Real Madrid sits in second place just two points behind cross-city rival Atlético. In a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final, Los Blancos dispatched Liverpool on a 3-1 aggregate in the quarterfinals despite missing starting defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane.

Chelsea kicked off the Tuchel era at Stamford Bridge with a 15-match unbeaten run and recently ended Manchester City's hopes at an unprecedented quadruple with a 1-0 win in the FA Cup semifinals. The Blues edged past Portuguese champions Porto in the quarterfinals on a 2-1 aggregate and enter the semis having recorded 16 clean sheets in its last 21 matches in all competitions.  

Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic becomes only the third American player to feature in the Champions League semifinals after Tyler Adams and Damarcus Beasley. 

Stay tuned here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).

Here are the lineups for both clubs:

The winner of this semifinal tie will play either PSG or Manchester City for the 2021 Champions League title. The final is set for May 29 in Istanbul.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more