The Champions League quarter-finals pitted some giant teams against each other, and here’s how the games panned out.

The first matchup was an eventful clash of giants, which saw the Cityzens prevail over Bayern Munich.

Manchester City dominated their first-leg matchup, beating Bayern by a score of 3-0. This was due in part to the poor performance of French national and Bayern center-back Dayot Upamecano, who constantly proved to be poor on and off the ball throughout the match. Bayern goalkeeper Jan Sommer is the only reason that the game didn’t end up finishing closer to five or six to Bayern’s zero. Manchester City has been on a raging run of form, winning their last 11 games. With the signing of the Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, City has boosted their team significantly, currently sitting at #1 in the world’s club power rankings. Although Bayern is currently right on their tail at second place, no current team holds a candle to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The second leg saw an intense matchup between the two teams, with 11 yellow cards being handed out and even a red card given to Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel. The match ended 1-1, a score that reflected the extreme competitiveness of the matchup. Man City’s Erling Haaland made up for a missed pen by scoring later on in the game, and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich’s scored a consolation penalty in the 83rd minute to tie the match 1-1. City moved on with an aggregate score of 4-1, and will be facing off against Real Madrid on May 9 and May 16.

Napoli has had much success within Italy’s primary league Serie A this season, currently topping the table with 75 points; 22 more than AC Milan’s 53. AC Milan sits in 4th place, just barely within the margins of qualifying for next year’s Champions League. However, when the teams clashed on April 2, AC Milan had their way with Napoli, shattering them 4-0. While this win was practically meaningless for Napoli in the context of Serie A, this loss was clearly not easily forgotten going into their Champions League matchup. AC Milan came out on top of the first-leg matchup with a 1-0 win. With Napoli’s number nine Osimhen missing the game due to a suspension, Napoli’s attacking prowess was significantly lowered. Although Georgian superstar Kvicha Krvatshelia was playing, he was unable to find the finishing touch, resulting in a loss for the Italian giants.

The second leg had a similar result-a close game that ended up as a draw. AC Milan’s Rafael Leao provided Olivier Giroud with a world-class assist to go up 1-0, and Osimhen scored a consolation goal for Napoli in the 93rd minute, moving AC Milan to the semi-finals on a 2-1 aggregate score. This result came as a shock for many, as Napoli were favorites to win the Champions League behind Manchester City. This result means that AC Milan will play rivals Inter Milan on May 9th and May 16th. 

In the matchup between Real Madrid and Chelsea, the winner was never in any real doubt from the start. Chelsea is currently on one of their worst runs of form in the club’s history, currently sitting in 11th in the Premier League table. This is due in part to their manager crisis, which has been a large problem for Chelsea this season. Real Madrid closed the first leg off in an easy fashion, winning 2-0. There was never any threat from Chelsea’s attack, and their midfield seemed lost throughout the game, struggling to even keep up with Madrid. 

The second leg saw the same result-a 2-0 win from Real Madrid. Again, the play was dominated by Los Blancos, with Chelsea’s attack trying to make good of feeble chances that never worked out. The Spanish giants, who hold the most champions league titles in history at 14, look to expand their reign even further by taking their 15th home-which would be a back-to-back victory, as they prevailed over Liverpool in one of the most eventful and challenging Champions League runs in the history of the competition. They will go on to the semi-finals in a matchup against Manchester City. The first leg will be held on May 9, and the second on May 16. 

The final matchup of the quarter-finals was between Italian side Inter Milan and Portuguese side Benfica. The first leg ended 2-0 for Inter, a score that didn’t reflect the way the game was played out. Benfica had 1.79 expected goals to Inter’s 1.71, but still lost by two goals. Additionally, Benfica had a majority of possession, with 58% to Inter’s 42%. Although Inter came out on top, Benfica was the better team in the first leg but was unlucky with chances on both sides of the field. 

The second leg saw first-half goals from both teams, starting with a goal from Inter’s Nicolo Barella which was soon leveled out 24 minutes later by Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes. Inter scored two more goals in the second half, and although Benfica scored two more in the 80th and 90th minutes, it wasn’t enough to beat Inter’s aggregate lead. Although the game ended 3-3, Inter moved on with an aggregate score of 5-3. They will face fellow Italian team and rival AC Milan on May 9 and May 16.

Overall, the Champions League quarter-finals were eventful, with upsets and domination occurring throughout. The semi-finals will certainly bring more excitement, controversy, and possible upsets, but only time will tell.