Ranking the four teams in the Champions League semi-finals | OneFootball

We are down to the last four teams in the 2024/25 Uefa Champions League, so we’ve decided to power rank the semi-finalists ahead of this week’s first legs.

Ranking the four teams in the Champions League semi-finals

4. Inter Milan

When Inter are at their best, they are an excellent team, which is why we put them third in our rankings before the quarter-finals. But they are also an old side, which could cost them against such an energetic team as Barcelona.

Simone Inzaghi’s side are far more than just low-block merchants. They possess the talented passers who can beat a press, which will come in hand over these two legs, and they can unlock set defences with their wing-backs and underlapping centre-backs combining in attack.

Although the Nerazzurri trail Napoli by three points in the Scudetto race, they boast a far superior expected goals difference (+29.2xGD). They secured impressive wins over Arsenal and Monaco in the league phase before beating Feyenoord and Bayern Munich in the knockout stages.

Inter have been set an impossibly tall order in the semi-final draw, but they have previous in surmounting the odds against Barcelona at this stage of the competition.

Read – Remembering the Inter Milan side that famously beat Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2010

3. Arsenal

Earlier this month we ranked Arsenal fifth among the last eight teams, primarily on the basis that their defence has been hollowed out by injuries. That area of the pitch has been the key strength of Mikel Arteta’s team over the past two seasons, so it wasn’t outlandish to think they would struggle to contain a Real Madrid side containing some of the best attacking talent in the world.

Well, that notion was blown out of the water over both legs. The Gunners not only contained Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and co., they smothered them. If not for a careless William Saliba mistake at the back they would have shut out the Spanish giants altogether.

Their second half performance in the first leg was particularly impressive, when they limited Real to just three shots. The two wins were proof positive that Arsenal are truly elite at defending both in and out of possession.

Is that enough to go all the way in the Champions League? It certainly gives them a puncher’s chance against some of the most frightening attacks in world football.

Read – Ranked! Arsenal’s five best Champions League wins

2. PSG

It’s a bit ironic ranking Paris Saint-Germain above Arsenal given they lost to them earlier this season, but they have gone from strength to strength since their early struggles in the league phase.

Luis Enrique’s men squashed Brest in the play-off round before knocking out Liverpool and Aston Villa en route to the semis. The Spaniard has turned a disparate collection of individual superstars into a cohesive, counter-pressing machine. It might be the best managerial accomplishment of the year.

As impressive as PSG looked against those two Premier League clubs, it also exposed weaknesses that Arsenal could exploit. While they are world class at harrying the opposition into giving up the ball in dangerous areas, they are poor at controlling games by holding onto possession. When they tried to do so after going two up against Villa in the quarter-final second leg, they conceded three goals and nearly threw away the match.

Still, the collection of talent at their disposal is incredible, particularly after the signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Whereas Arsenal have been weakened since the last time they met, PSG have only gotten stronger.

Read – Arsenal vs PSG combined XI ahead of Champions League clash

1. Barcelona

Set against the backdrop of financial mismanagement and chicanery, Barcelona‘s emergence as arguably the best team in Europe this season is remarkable. After winning the Copa del Rey against Real on Saturday, it’s possible Hansi Flick could win the second treble of his managerial career, both in his first season at a club.

La Blaugrana still have a lot of work on their hands, but they have the tools to sweep the board. No player in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more non-penalty goals than Robert Lewandowski (22), who is flanked by two world-class wingers in Raphinha and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. With Pedri feeding them the ball from midfield, they all combine to make Barça a seemingly unstoppable force.

Read – Champions League semi-finals are the most open in 20 years

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