Johnathon Grumbles
Arsenal will have a crucial advantage when they play Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League The Gunners eliminated Sporting CP while Atletico went through at Barcelona’s expense despite losing the second leg A UEFA rule that was introduced this season, after Arsenal’s complaints, has seen the Gunners get an edge in the knockout rounds Arsenal qualified for their second Champions League semi-final in a row after they squeaked past Sporting CP on Wednesday night.
Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League semi-finals. Photo by Vince Mignott.
Source: Getty Images A goalless draw at the Emirates meant that Kai Havertz’s late winner in Lisbon last week was the difference maker as Mikel Arteta’s side reached the last four in their quest to win their maiden title.
Arsenal’s complaint to UEFA And that charge is set to receive a further boost thanks to the new UEFA rules that were introduced at the start of this season.
Arsenal, who were knocked out of the Champions League by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals last season, complained to UEFA about the unfair placement of teams in the knockout rounds.
The Gunners, who finished third in the league phase, were forced to play away from home in the second legs of their encounters against Real Madrid (quarter-finals) and PSG (semi-finals) despite the two teams finishing lower than them in the league phase.
Which Champions League advantage do Arsenal have? That was, however, changed this season with UEFA introducing a new clause that rewards the top performers in the league phase with the second leg at home, which is often considered a major advantage.
“Seeded teams, i.e. teams ranked 1 to 4 after the league phase, play the return leg at home in the quarter-finals, and teams ranked 1 and 2 also play the return leg of the semi-finals at home. If a seeded team is beaten in any round, the team that eliminates them takes over their seeding position in the bracket path (i.e. the higher ranking for seeding purposes is not recalculated after each round),” reads the UEFA document. Mikel Arteta celebrates after Arsenal qualified for the Champions League semi-final. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane.
Source: Getty Images When is Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid? Therefore, Arsenal will need to ‘survive’ the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano on April 29, knowing well that they would have home advantage for the second encounter a week later on May 5.
The same advantage will apply to Bayern Munich, who, after beating Real Madrid at home in the second leg, will also start the semi-final against PSG in France before the defending champions go to Munich. Vincent Kompany’s side were second behind Arsenal in the league phase.
Supercomputer predicts Champions League winner In another report, Opta’s supercomputer predicted who would win the Champions League after the four semi-finalists were confirmed.
Arsenal and Atletico are chasing their first Champions League titles, while PSG and Bayern have won it before.
PSG will be llooking to become the first side to win it in back to back years since Real Madrid’s three-peat.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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