This week’s second legs of the quarterfinals separated the wheat from the chaff in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League.
We’re now down to four teams is club soccer’s most prestigious competition, with all four teams having an equal chance of hoisting the European Champion Clubs’ Cup.
Real Madrid won three consecutive titles from 2016-18, but no other team has won back-to-back tournaments since the European Cup was rebranded the Champions League in 1992. Paris Saint-German’s quarterfinal win over Liverpool means it remains on course to become only the second club to repeat as champions in the modern era of the tournament.
Here are the big questions facing the remaining four clubs who remain in contention for a spot in the final on May 30 at Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Semifinals: vs. Atlético Madrid
Interesting stat: With 10 wins and two draws, Arsenal is the only team to have gone unbeaten in this year’s tournament.
Past meetings: Arsenal has a record of one win, one loss and one draw in three meetings vs. Atlético Madrid in UEFA competitions.
Is the pressure getting to the Gunners? Arsenal went a perfect 8-0 in the initial phase of the competition, but it has looked far from impressive in recent weeks. A surprising 2-1 loss to second-tier Southampton earlier this month knocked them out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinals. They followed that up with a shocking 2-1 loss to Bournemouth last weekend, a result that loosened their grip on first place in the Premier League; Manchester City is just six points adrift, with a game in hand. And the Gunners looked far from impressive against Sporting, as they just managed to hold on for a 1-0 aggregate win over the Lisbon-based club. Mikel Arteta’s side seem to be coming a bit undone during the worst possible time, and now they have a tough semifinal series against a pesky Atlético Madrid.
Semifinals: vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Interesting stat: Bayern Munich has won 11 of its 12 games in this season’s Champions League.
Past meetings: Bayern Munich has a record of nine wins and six losses in 15 meetings vs. Paris Saint-Germain in UEFA competitions.
Is there any stopping Harry Kane? With 12 goals to his credit, Kane ranks second in this year’s scoring race, but he’ll surely surpass leader Kylian Mbappe’s 15 now that Real Madrid has been eliminated. Kane has been a model of consistency for Bayern in this competition — he’s scored in each of the German giants’ last three matches and has a goal in eight of their 12 games. Incredibly, he’s recorded four braces and is averaging a goal every 71 minutes in this year’s competition. However, he failed to score in Bayern’s 2-1 road win over Paris Saint-Germain in November during the initial phase of the tournament. Kane was limited to one shot on target and was subbed out in the 88th minute after a frustrating night in Paris. So, it’ll be interesting to see if the French club can contain the English striker over two legs in the semifinals.
Semifinals: vs. Arsenal
Interesting stat: This is just Atlético Madrid’s sixth appearance in the final four, and first since 2017, when it lost to eventual winners Real Madrid.
Past meetings: Atlético Madrid has a record of one win, one loss and one draw in three meetings against Arsenal in UEFA competitions.
Can Atlético’s defence hold firm? Diego Simeone’s side has done well to get this far, securing its spot in the knockout stage following a playoff win over Club Brugge and then getting the better of Tottenham and FC Barcelona. But Atlético’s defence has looked anything but solid — the Spaniards coughed up 15 goals in the initial phase of the tournament and conceded another seven goals across their four matches in the knockout round. In total, they’ve recorded just one clean sheet in their 14 Champions League matches this season, and now they’re getting ready to play Arsenal, which scored a tournament high 23 goals in the first phase of the tournament. What’s more, Atlético has lost five of their last six matches in all competitions.
Semifinals: vs. Bayern Munich
Interesting stat: Paris Saint-Germain is unbeaten in six games (five wins) vs. English teams in this year’s competition.
Past meetings: Paris Saint-Germain has a record of six wins and nine losses in 15 meetings against Bayern Munich in UEFA competitions.
Is Ousmane Dembélé peaking at the right time? The current holder of the Ballon d’Or was pretty quiet through Paris Saint-Germain’s first 10 games of the competition, with just one goal in six appearances to show for his efforts (injuries forced him to miss the other four games). But the French forward has come good during the knockout round, with three goals across PSG’s last four outings, including a brace in the club’s 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield this week. Dembélé was rather wasteful in the first leg against Liverpool, but he buried both of his second-half scoring chances in the return match, and he’ll have to continue to be in top form, when PSG clashes with Bayern Munich in the semifinals after losing to the Germans at home in November the initial phase of the competition.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.