With just four teams remaining in the Champions League, the competition has truly entered its business end.
Holders Real Madrid — 15-time winners of the competition — exited via a 5-1 aggregate quarter-final defeat by Arsenal, leaving Inter and Barcelona as the only remaining semi-finalists to have won the Champions League.
Here is all you need to know about the remainder of the 2024-25 Champions League campaign.
What happened in the quarter-finals?
Despite still operating without a natural striker and forced to deal with the season-ending injury to Gabriel in defence, Arsenal defeated the holders in the quarter-final — their 3-0 first-leg advantage proving insurmountable for Madrid at the Bernabeu. Declan Rice’s two free kicks and Mikel Merino’s late strike secured the sizeable advantage for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who got the job done at the Bernabeu with a 2-1 win. Vinicius Junior had cancelled out Bukayo Saka’s opener, before Gabriel Martinelli added a stoppage-time winner.
Barcelona, meanwhile, continued their theme of being the highest scorers in Europe’s top five domestic leagues and the Champions League with a 4-0 first-leg rout of Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga side threatened an unlikely comeback when Serhou Guirassy scored twice without reply in the second leg, but Ramy Bensebaini’s own goal killed their hopes of overturning the deficit, despite Guirassy sealing his hat-trick on 76 minutes for a 5-3 aggregate scoreline.
Paris Saint-Germain claimed their second British scalp of the knockout stage with victory over Aston Villa. Despite Unai Emery’s side going ahead in Paris, the hosts managed to recover and secure a 3-1 victory, which they built on with two quick goals at Villa Park. Villa, too, threatened a seemingly impossible comeback, as Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa all scored to put the hosts ahead in the match, and within one goal of a 5-5 aggregate draw. They could not find another goal, however, ending their first Champions League campaign since the competition’s rebranding in 1992.
Inter, meanwhile, knocked out 2020 winners Bayern Munich as they continue their hunt for a fourth Champions League title. A 2-1 victory in Munich set the Serie A side up to progress 4-3 on aggregate after a 2-2 second-leg draw at San Siro. Both teams led and trailed over the course of 18 minutes in Wednesday’s second leg, with goals from Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard sandwiched between finishes from Harry Kane and Eric Dier.
Who is playing who in the semi-finals?
PSG will play a Premier League side for the third consecutive tie in this year’s knockouts, facing Arsenal.
It will be their second meeting in the competition this season. First-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka secured a 2-0 home win for Arsenal in the league phase in October.
Barcelona and Inter will also battle for a place in the final, pitting the competition’s most prolific attack against its meanest defence. It will be a repeat of the two sides’ semi-final clashes in the 2009-10 Champions League, which saw the Serie A side emerge with a 3-2 aggregate victory, going on to lift the trophy in Madrid.
What can we expect from the semi-finalists?
Arsenal
When it comes to statement victories, nothing quite matches knocking out the kings of Europe, Real Madrid, from the Champions League.
Yet for Arsenal — so often underwhelming in the knockout stages in recent years — it all looked remarkably routine, and Arteta’s side will now be surging with belief they can go all the way.
Despite Rice’s breathtaking free kicks stealing the headlines, this is a team built on defensive solidity. No side has conceded fewer expected goals per 90, with the centre-back pairing of William Saliba and the now-injured Gabriel forming the bedrock of that resilience.
Jakub Kiwior deputised impressively for the Brazilian against Real Madrid, limiting Kylian Mbappe to just two shots on target in the game at the Emirates. This should give Arsenal confidence they can maintain their strong defensive foundations.
At the other end of the pitch, a returning Bukayo Saka gives Arsenal that genuine potency up front and he has scored this season against PSG (albeit via a free-kick cross that evaded everyone). In his absence, their attack looked stodgy and predictable, despite Merino’s effective performances as a makeshift centre-forward.
Opta’s supercomputer has made Arsenal favourites to go on and lift the trophy in Munich. They have the momentum, tactical nous, and individual brilliance to make that happen.
Barcelona
Barcelona might be disappointed to have lost 3-1 in their second-leg tie to Borussia Dortmund, but do not be fooled into thinking they are on the decline. With a 24-game unbeaten run and a 4-0 lead from the first leg, it was always going to be a strange clash at Westfalenstadion as Barcelona looked to manage the tie, if not the individual game.
According to Opta’s supercomputer, Hansi Flick’s side are the second favourites to win the competition, and with the attacking trident of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, you can understand why. With 27 goals between them in the Champions League, strikes are coming from all angles as Barcelona remain on track to complete a historic treble for the first time in 10 years.
The versatility they offer makes them perfectly suited to knockout football. They can circulate possession with the technical quality of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and (earlier in the competition) Marc Casado in midfield areas.
However, do not be fooled into thinking Barcelona simply pass teams into submission. The pacy threat and tireless running of Yamal and Raphinha means Flick’s side can punish you in transitional moments. Eight of their goals have come from direct attacks in the Champions League this season, the most in the competition.
Niggling doubts about their high defensive line can be reserved for another time, but for now it is worth remembering that Barcelona are the team to beat this year — the numbers simply back that up.
Inter
Of the semi-finalists, Inter stand out stylistically. Playing in a structured 3-5-2 system, Simone Inzaghi’s team avoid pressing aggressively — just six of the 36 teams in this season’s Champions League have allowed more passes per defensive action (PPDA).
Instead, they are comfortable sitting deep, holding their shape, and favouring a slow, controlled build-up in possession. Only Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have progressed the ball at a slower direct speed than their 0.94 metres per second.
One advantage of this restrained approach is that Inter are rarely caught out when they lose the ball. No side in the competition has conceded fewer expected goals per game than their 0.14 xG, and that transitional solidity could be key against upcoming opponents Barcelona, who have scored a competition-high eight goals from counter-attacks.
On the ball, Inter are highly fluid. Players rotate positions with ease, creating overloads that allow their wing-backs to deliver from wide areas into the strike partnership of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, whose relationship continues to blossom.
Inter may be considered rank outsiders heading into the semi-finals, but Inzaghi’s disciplined, streetwise side are awkward opponents. Underestimate them at your peril.
Paris Saint-Germain
Luis Enrique’s PSG had a slow start to their Champions League campaign, but there is little doubt they have clicked into gear.
This year’s iteration of Luis Enrique’s side are more cohesive, coordinated and coherent than they have been for many years — in and out of possession. While Villa did give them a scare in their second-leg quarter-final clash with their direct attacks, PSG were deserving winners.
Much like Barcelona, PSG have a blend of technical quality with devastating pace when working the ball through the thirds. In Joao Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz, they have midfield control, which allows any one of Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue or Kvicha Kvaratskhelia to cause mayhem in the forward line.
Those attackers will frequently rotate across the pitch, popping up in different positions to prevent the opposition from tracking them. Whether it is dropping deep into midfield areas or pulling wide to stretch the opposition back line, no player personifies such rotation as Dembele, whose 32 goals in all competitions have seen him explode as a clinical goalscorer this season.
Where previously PSG’s star-studded line-up would lack the requisite tactical discipline at the latter stages of the competition, this version feels like a proper team. It was 10 seasons ago that Luis Enrique won an incredible treble with a Barcelona side that played exactly in his image.
A decade on, there is every chance he can repeat the feat.
When are the semi-finals?
The semi-finals will take place across two legs. This is the stage at which the competition moves into being one match per day, with one of the first legs on Tuesday, April 29 and the other on Wednesday, April 30.
The two second legs will then be played on Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7. All four games will kick off at 8pm BST (3pm ET, 12pm PT).
UEFA previously said an official schedule will be communicated on April 17.
Tuesday April 29: Arsenal vs PSG
Wednesday April 30: Barcelona vs Inter
Tuesday May 6: Inter vs Barcelona
Wednesday May 7: PSG vs Arsenal
How to watch the semi-finals
The Champions League semi-finals are available to watch via Paramount+ in the United States, as the exclusive English-language rights holders of the competition.
In the UK, the semi-final legs taking place on Tuesday are available to watch via Amazon Prime Video, while the Wednesday night clashes are available with a TNT Sports subscription (or can be streamed via discovery+).
When and where is the final?
The 2024-25 Champions League final will be held at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on Saturday, May 31.
The 75,024-capacity arena has hosted various key events in the football calendar since it opened in 2005. It hosted the 2006 World Cup’s opening match, as well as the semi-final between France and Portugal. The stadium hosted several European Championship matches in 2020 and 2024.
The Allianz Arena was the venue for the 2012 Champions League final, when Chelsea lifted the trophy with a penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern.
How much will teams make from the UCL?
UEFA, the governing body for European football, announced in March 2024 the total prize pot for clubs competing in the Champions League would be €2.47billion (£2.12bn; $2.81bn).
The remaining clubs have already accumulated a significant sum through their route to the semi-final, in accordance with UEFA’s formulas.
From the league phase
- Clubs earn €2.1m per win and €700,000 per draw
- Clubs earn money based off their final ranking in the league phase. This is calculated by “shares” of €275,000. The first-placed team (Liverpool) earned 36 shares for finishing top of the 36-team table (i.e. 36 x €275,000), second-placed Barcelona earned 35 shares, and so on
- Clubs that finished 1-8 in the league phase (qualifying automatically for the last 16) gained an extra €2m. Clubs that finished 9-18 (qualifying for the play-offs) earned €1m
From the knockout rounds
- Qualification for the knockout round play-offs: €1m per club
- Qualification for the round of 16: €11m per club
- Qualification for the quarter-finals: €12.5m per club
- Qualification for the semi-finals: €15m per club
- Qualification for the final: €18.5m per club
- The winners can expect to receive an additional €6.5m.
- The two clubs that qualify for the 2024 Super Cup can each expect to receive €4m, with the winners receiving an additional €1m
(Top photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
