Bruce Dias 
After a compelling quarterfinal with eight powerhouse clubs, the 2024 UEFA Champions League is down to four teams. On name recognition alone, nobody would be surprised to see any of these four teams lift the trophy on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London. That means the two legs of the semifinals and the finals will be unpredictable regardless of what the oddsmakers say. To help you prepare for the semifinals, let’s take a closer look at the four teams left and their chances of winning the 2024 Champions League title.
Bayern Munich
This has been far from the typical Bayern Munich season. The club’s domination in the Bundesliga has come to an end with the German giants nowhere close to new champions Bayer Leverkusen. The Bavarians have also spent more than a month with Thomas Tuchel being a lame-duck coach, creating questions about the motivation of the players late in the season.
However, Munich’s Champions League pedigree continues to shine through. They survived a close and contentious semifinal against Arsenal, a team that some believed was more talented than the Bavarians. Yet, Bayern is in familiar territory in the Champions League semifinals. They also have Harry Kane, who is hungry to win a trophy and is the second-leading scorer in this season’s competition. Bayern’s form over the last few months has been a rollercoaster. But that shouldn’t count out a team with their talent and pedigree.
Borussia Dortmund
With regard to Champions League, we may want to refer to Borussia Dortmund as the little engine that could. Many believed they were the weakest team in the quarterfinals. They also faced a 2-1 deficit after the first leg of the quarterfinals against Atletico Madrid. But two goals in the final 20 minutes of the second leg turned the tables and sent Dortmund to the semifinals.
Of course, the German side remains the biggest underdog to win Champions League heading into the semifinals. Defensively, BVB has struggled at times, which makes victories over the top teams in Europe a little harder to envision. However, since the start of March, Dortmund has won seven of its nine matches. That includes a league win over Bayern Munich and Champions League victories over PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid. With that much momentum, Dortmund at least has a puncher’s chance to pull off a shocking Champions League title.
PSG
Kylian Mbappé is potentially writing a storybook ending for his time at PSG. The club has spent several years dominating domestically but coming up short in Champions League. The Parisians still strive to be crowned the kings of Europe and appear to have their best chance of achieving that since losing the 2020 Champions League final.
Mbappé and PSG showed that drive during the second leg of the quarterfinals. The French side trailed 4-1 on aggregate after 12 minutes. But they managed to score four unanswered goals to knock out Barcelona with Mbappé scoring the final two goals. With another Ligue 1 title all but assured, PSG can put its entire focus on winning Champions League. In theory, they have a manageable semifinal against Borussia Dortmund. More importantly, PSG has the best player in the tournament, as Mbappé looks determined to win club football’s biggest trophy before departing Paris this summer.
Real Madrid
A penalty shootout is all that is separating Real Madrid from being favorites to win Champions League and being out of the competition altogether. Los Blancos survived a bonafide onslaught from Manchester City during the second leg of the quarterfinals and bested the reigning champs on penalties to advance. It was the type of performance and fortitude that shows why Real Madrid has won Champions League in five of the last 10 years.
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The question is can this year’s Real Madrid squad replicate the success of past teams? There are certainly enough experienced players in the squad to handle the pressure that comes at this stage of the tournament. Los Blancos are also holding a relatively comfortable lead atop La Liga, allowing them to focus solely on Champions League. Most importantly, Real Madrid might have the deepest collection of talent. With the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo, it’s easy to see why Madrid is favored to win Champions League yet again.
