Tension & Thrills In the UCL knockout stage & finals draw

Tension & Thrills In the UCL knockout stage & finals draw

The knockout stage of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League has come to an end with sixteen teams battling it out in what proved to be a tense and thrilling race for European football's most prestigious prize. 

Now that the quarter-final, semi-final, and final draws have taken place, we’ll have to wait until the 10th June 2023 before we find out who will be crowned the champion of Europe at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Until then we’ve got a spectacle of European football to look forward to. 

UEFA Champions League Final Draw Results

The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League quarter-final, semi-final and final draws are set! Bayern (GER), Benfica (POR), Chelsea (ENG), Inter(ITA) , Man City( ENG ), Milan( ITA ), Napoli (ITA), and Real Madrid (ESP) will battle it out to see who comes out on top in this year’s highly anticipated UEFA Champions League Finals.

The quarter-final draws have been decided and will feature 4 momentous clashes between Europe's finest. 

In quarter-final one, Real Madrid will meet Chelsea at  Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain and Stamford Bridge for the second leg. Quarter-final two will see Inter Milan face off with Benfica at  Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in leg one and San Siro in Leg two. The quarter final three pairing is set to be a nail-biter with Man City going up against Bayern Munich at Etihad Stadium for the first match and Allianz Arena in leg two. The 4th quarter-final will have AC Milan testing their mettle against Napoli at San Siro in leg one and  Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in leg two.

Semi-final one will see the winner of quarter-final four (Milan or Napoli) play against the winner of quarter-final two  (Inter or Benfica). Semi-final two will be against the winner in the 1st quarter-final (Real Madrid or Chelsea) and the winner of the third quarter-final (Man City or Bayern). The first team for the final has been drawn as the winner of semi-final two.   

We hope you’re ready for this epic showdown, with the quarter-finals on April 11/12, and the return fixtures slated for April 18/19! The semi-finals will be played in May, before the big final in June. 

Looking back at the 2023 UCL knockout stage 

UCL Knockout stage

What a selection of Europe’s finest the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League Knockout round gave us! We had a thrilling round of 16, with English heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool facing off against German powerhouses Leipzig and Real Madrid respectively. 

Chelsea also battled it out with Dortmund while AC Milan welcomed Tottenham Hotspur. And if that wasn't enough Portuguese giants Benfica faced off with Club Brugge; Inter Milan met Porto; Napoli went head-to-head against Eintracht Frankfurt and PSG met Bayern Munich. 

Manchester City & Leipzig

The leg one matchup between the two teams was a relatively drab affair with a 1-1 draw. Compared to the first leg match, when the two met again at Etihad Stadium it was an absolute goal fest. Erling Haaland scored a record breaking 5 goals for Man City to smash RB Leipzig 7-0. A result that sent Man City straight into the quarter final draw.

Liverpool & Real Madrid

After what could easily be considered a real thrashing by Real Madrid over Liverpool in Leg one, there wasn’t a lot that the Spanish team needed to do to secure their spot in the finals draws. Going down 5-1 in leg one and 1-0 in leg two, meant that The Reds had to give way to the team from Spain as Real Madrid continues their campaign for a 15th Champions league title. 

Chelsea & Dortmund

After losing their first leg match against Dortmund 1-0, Chelsea managed to  turn the table on their adversaries from the previous week! Despite their loss in Germany, Chelsea came back in style to beat Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, and seal their spot in the quarter finals. 

AC Milan & Tottenham Hotspur

AC Milan ended Tottenham’s dreams of UCL glory with one goal during the first leg match at San Siro. The Spur’s went down 1-0 during leg one and were unable to claw their way back into the quarter finals after they drew 0-0 in Leg two.

Benfica & Club Brugge

Benfica have silenced any critics they may have had by securing their place in the UCL quarter finals with two convincing wins over Club Brugge. After defeating Club Brugge 2-0 during the first leg, the Begians had a lot of work to do but unfortunately ‘never showed up.’ Benfica put their stamp on the rivalry with a 5 - 1 victory in leg two. 

Inter Milan & Porto

The leg one game was the one that decided the fate of these two football powerhouses. Inter Milan scored the winning goal during their first meeting, and managed to keep Porto from seeing the back of the net, securing their spot in this year’s UCL quarter finals. 

Napoli & Eintracht Frankfurt

Napoli emerged from the knockout round as clear victors over Eintracht Frankfurt. Winning both games against the Germans,  2-0 and 3-0 respectively, the Italians are comfortably through to the finals draw. Will they make it all the way to the final?

PSG & Bayern 

It was all plain sailing for Bayern Munich in both leg one and two versus PSG. The first game saw Bayern coming out on top with a 1-0 score line. When they met again at the Allianz Stadium on March 8th, PSG had no answer to the attacking onslaught of Bayern as they finalised their spot in the quarter final with a 2-0 victory.  

UCL Key Stats

UCL Knockout stage

The UEFA Champions League, or UCL, is an iconic competition of continental champions, first established in 1955 as the Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup). The tournament evolved to include a round-robin group stage and multiple entries from certain countries beginning with the 97–98 season. 

Spanish clubs lead all other countries in terms of success at the UCL, having won 19 titles, while England has the highest number of winning teams, with five clubs claiming the championship. 

In total, 22 different clubs have won the tournament since its inception with Real Madrid being  the most successful club in the tournament's history. They have hoisted the trophy an impressive 14 times - including a stretch of five consecutive years.

Bayern Munich is the only team to have won every game in a single tournament during their 2019/2020 UCL title run. The current champions are Madrid after they beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 2022 final.

With only 7 games left in this year’s UEFA Champions League, the tournament is reaching boiling point. The next few months have a feast of exciting European football on the way. As a fan filled with passion for your team, you can make sure you have all of the merchandise you need to show your support - head over to our store today

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