UEFA Champions League Thread

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Tur: 1/2 Aprilie
Retur: 8/9 Aprilie

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Champions League - Team of the Last 16


De Gea (Man United)



Alves (Barca) - Cahill (Chelsea) - Marquinhos (PSG) - Criscito (Zenit)



Bastian (Bayern) - Garcia (Atletico) - Hazard (Chelsea)



Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - Diego Costa (Atletico) - Van Persie (Man United)

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Bayern handed partial ground closure

UEFA have ordered the partial closure of the Allianz ArenA following the display of controversial banners by Bayern Munchen fans.

The signs were displayed by home fans during the second leg of Bayern's Champions League tie with Arsenal on 11 March, which saw the German outfit progress 3-1 on aggregate.

One crudely made banner depicted a man in an Arsenal away strip bent over in front of a cannon and was emblazoned with the words "Gay Gunners", while another read "Say no to racism, say yes to Kosovo" in reference to a campaign to have the territory officially recognised by FIFA.

UEFA have now ordered the closure of sector 124 at the Allianz ArenA for the second leg of Bayern's Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United on 9 April.

The Bundesliga leaders have also been fined €10.000 for the incident.

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Alcantara blow for Bayern

Bayern Munchen midfielder Thiago Alcantara will miss the Champions League quarter-finals with Manchester United after suffering a knee injury.

The club confirmed the Spaniard will miss both quarter-final games against Manchester United and the semi-finals should Bayern progress.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said: "It's bad news. We're going to miss him a lot".

Thiago suffered the injury in the first half of Bayern's 3-3 draw at home with Hoffenheim.

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Champions League - Team of the quarter-finals


Courtois (Atletico)



Carvajal (Real Madrid) - Bartra (Barca) - Vidic (Man United) - Filipe (Atletico)



Isco (Real Madrid) - Diego (Atletico) - Iniesta (Barca)



Robben (Bayern) - Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - Lavezzi (PSG)

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Champions League - Team of the quarter-finals


Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)



Lahm (Bayern) - Cahill (Chelsea) - Hummels (BVB) - Filipe (Atletico)



Koke (Atletico) - Kirch (BVB) - Schurrle (Chelsea)



Robben (Bayern) - Villa (Atletico) - Reus (BVB)

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bayern - atletico, in finala

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bayern - atletico, in finala

Chelsea - Bayern

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Neuer set to return for Real clash

Bayern Munchen goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is set to return from injury and face Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-finals.

The European champions will aim to take another step towards defending their crown when they head to Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of a last 4 clash.

Germany international Neuer has been absent for Bayern's last 2 games after sustaining a calf problem in the 3-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

However, the 28-year-old was able to participate in ball work during training on Sunday and is expected to be fit in time for the visit for the Spanish capital.

David Alaba should also be available after missing Saturday's 2-0 win at Eintracht Braunschweig due to a cold, while Diego Contento is back in training following a 3-week lay-off with an ankle injury.

Real star Cristiano Ronaldo faces a race to be fit for the first leg after missing his side's last 4 games with knee and thigh injuries.

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Ronaldo returns to full training, Bale struggling with flu

Cristiano Ronaldo is back in full training ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Bayern Munchen, but Gareth Bale is struggling with illness.

Ronaldo has missed Real's last 4 games due to knee and thigh problems, but came through a training session on Monday and now looks set to make his return when Carlo Ancelotti's men host Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

Defender Sergio Ramos, who has been hampered by a neck injury, also trained with the squad, but Wales forward Bale's participation in the contest with Bayern could be in doubt.

Bale scored the winning goal in Real's 2-1 Copa del Rey Final win against FC Barcelona in last week, but was unable to train on Monday due to flu-like symptoms.

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Champions League - Team of the semi-finals


Schwarzer (Chelsea)



Azpilicueta - Cahill - Terry (Chelsea) - Coentrao (Real Madrid)



Modric (Real Madrid) - Luiz (Chelsea) - Koke (Atletico)



Robben (Bayern) - Benzema - Di Maria (Real Madrid)

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Semi-finals: second legs stats & facts

Real Madrid eclipsed their previous Champions League goalscoring record, Cristiano Ronaldo made history and Atletico Madrid continued their unbeaten European run.

Real Madrid's 4-0 win at Bayern Munchen was the biggest margin of victory away from home in a Champions League semi-final. There had been 3 previous 3-0 successes, the most recent of them when Bayern overcame FC Barcelona at Camp Nou last season.

Real Madrid have scored 37 goals in this season's competition. Although some way short of Barca's all-time high of 45 in 1999/2000, it is a record for a 13-game campaign, eclipsing the previous best of 35, set jointly by Real Madrid and Barca in 2011/2012.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 2 goals in Munchen took his tally for this term's competition to 16, setting a new record both for the Champions League and the European Cup.

Ronaldo is the first player to make a half-century of Champions League appearances for 2 clubs, having previously appeared 52 times in the competition for Manchester United.

Real Madrid have now played 199 matches in the Champions League and will match United's record tally of 200 when they face Atletico Madrid in the Final on 24 May.

Bayern's defeat means no club has ever retained the Champions League. They became the 6th reigning champions to fall at the semi-finals, which is now the most common stage of the competition at which the holders have been eliminated. There have been 5 losers in the quarter-finals, 4 in the round of 16, 4 runners-up and just one ousted in the group stages.

Atletico's 3-1 triumph at Chelsea means they are still to be beaten in the Champions League this season. Should they win the Final, they will become the 7th undefeated side to lift the trophy, the last being Manchester United in 2007/2008.

Chelsea's defeat brought a 4th successive semi-finals elimination for their manager, Jose Mourinho. He had suffered the same fate in each of the previous 3 campaigns as coach of Real Madrid.

Chelsea's defeat was the third time out of three that they had drawn the first leg of a Champions League semi-final 0-0 and failed to reach the Final. In 2004/2005 they were held at home by Liverpool before losing 1-0 at Anfield, and in 2008/2009 they came away from FC Barcelona with a goalless draw before going out on the away-goals rule with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

It will be Atletico's first Champions League Final, making them the 18th club to contest the fixture. The most recent first time finalists were Internazionale Milano, who won the trophy in 2010. The last first time finalists to lose were Chelsea, on penalties to Manchester United, in 2008.

Real Madrid will be making their 4th appearance in the Champions League Final. They have won on all of their previous 3 appearances, in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Should they make it 4 victories, they will be the first to do so in the Champions League era, moving them past fellow 3-time winners FC Barcelona and AC Milan. It would also be Real's record 10th European Cup triumph.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has already won the Champions League on 2 occasions, leading AC Milan to the trophy in 2003 and 2007. Victory in Lisbon will make him the first coach to win it 3 times. 6 others have won it twice - Ottmar Hitzfeld, Vicente del Bosque, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Josep Guardiola and Jupp Heynckes.

Ancelotti could also become the fifth coach to win the European Cup with 2 clubs, after Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, SV Hamburg 1983), Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund 1997, Bayern Munchen 2001), Mourinho (FC Porto 2004, Inter Milano 2010) and Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid 1998, Bayern Munchen 2013).

Whichever club wins the Champions League Final, it will be a record-extending 7th victory for Spain. The other countries with multiple victories are Italy (5), England (4) and Germany (3). France, Holland and Portugal have each provided one victory.

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Costa to miss Champions League Final

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa looks set to miss the Champions League final, casting doubt on his World Cup involvement.

But in good news for Atletico, midfielder Arda Turan could still prove his fitness ahead of the Champions League decider against Real Madrid on 24 May.

Costa and Turan both limped off in the opening 25 minutes of Atletico's title-clinching 1-1 draw at FC Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday, with the former spotted in tears on the bench following a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury.

After the match, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo claimed Costa will miss the Champions League Final in Lisbon, while Turan is expected to return to training in a couple of days after aggravating a hip injury versus FC Barcelona.

Spanish newspaper AS quoted Cerezo as saying Costa will be out for "at least 2 weeks", which also casts doubt on the striker's hopes of being fit for the World Cup.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque must confirm his final 23-man squad by 2 June.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in the 2013/2014 Champions League; a record for a single European Cup season.
Icing.

Carlo Ancelotti is only the 2nd manager to win three European Cup/Champions League titles after Liverpool's Bob Paisley.
Illustrious.

Gareth Bale is the first Welsh player to score in a European Cup or Champions League Final.
Dragon.

Diego Godin is the first Uruguayan to score in a Champions League Final.
Global.

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Cristiano's records in the CL this season:

- Most goals in a CL season: 17 in 11 matches
- Most CL goals in a calendar year: 15
- Most goals in a CL group stage: 9
- Most goals in CL semi-finals: 8
- Most goals in CL knockout stages: 34
- Most consecutive CL matches scored in: 8
- First player with at least 10 goals in 3 consecutive CL seasons
- First player who scored for 2 clubs in a CL Final
- First player who scored against each opponent and in each stage of a CL season

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Diego Godin is the first Uruguayan to score in a Champions League Final.
Global.

La anu' poate o sa dea si Suarez, in tricoul Realului ..

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Real Madrid handed stadium closure

Real Madrid face a partial stadium closure for their Champions League defence after being found guilty of racist behaviour.

UEFA handed down the sanction to the newly crowned champions following incidents at Santiago Bernabeu during their semi-finals first leg against Bayern Munchen in April.

Madrid won that game 1-0, and went on to win the tie 5-0 on aggregate, but UEFA brought charges against them following the match.

The La Liga side are also under investigation by UEFA following incidents during the Final against city rivals Atletico, and could face further sanctions from the governing body.

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Xabi Alonso has been handed a one match ban in Europe for this celebration after Gareth Bale's Champions League final goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auSuwR5TTes