The UEFA Champions League semifinals seem poised for a thrilling finale this week, all four teams still very much alive after two closely contested first-leg matches in Paris and Madrid.
Arsenal and Atletico Madrid reconvene in north London on Tuesday after a 1-1 game in the Spanish capital a week earlier, both goals coming via penalty kicks during a match in which quality goalscoring opportunities were few and far between. The even terms feel appropriate for the high stakes – both teams are within touching distance of their first Champions League title, each of them chasing their first spot in the final in over a decade.
Two recent Champions League winners, meanwhile, meet in Germany on Wednesday after one of the tournament’s most thrilling matches ever. Bayern Munich host Paris Saint-Germain after the reigning champions notched a narrow 5-4 win at home, only adding to the anticipation as each chase a spot in the final – and perhaps the title as oddsmakers’ favorites to win the whole thing along with it.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of a pivotal week in the Champions League.
How to watch
Paramount+ will once again have every minute of Champions League coverage this week, while CBS shares broadcast duties from the start with the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show and will air both semifinal matches. The UEFA Champions League Today post-match show, meanwhile, will air on both Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network while coverage concludes with new episodes of The Champions Club and Scoreline on CBS Sports Golazo Network, while the former will also stream live on YouTube.
Beckham and Friends will also return this week and air on Paramount+, with Kate Scott hosting both editions. Champions League winner David Beckham will be joined by Golden Globe-winning actor Tom Hiddleston and ‘Emily in Paris’ actor Lucien Laviscount for Tuesday’s semifinal between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. Ex-U.S. international Clint Dempsey, ‘Yellowstone’ actor Cole Hauser and Fisher Stevens, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker who helmed Beckham’s docuseries, will be present for Wednesday’s game between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. A separate watchalong experience will be available on CBS Sports Golazo Network and YouTube during both semifinal games.
First leg scores
- Paris Saint-Germain 5, Bayern Munich 4
- Atletico Madrid 1, Arsenal 1
Champions League bracket
Semifinal second leg schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
Storylines for the Champions League semifinals
Can Bukayo Saka lift Arsenal? Arsenal may be in a poorly-timed funk but Bukayo Saka’s return to fitness may just be what snaps them out of it. He notched a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Fulham, the Gunners’ first convincing victory in over a month, offering just the spark the team has needed after weeks of stiff play. He may just be the missing piece for an Arsenal attack that has looked disjointed without him, inspiring plenty of intrigue as play resumes in north London on Tuesday. Both Arsenal and Atleti put plenty of emphasis on their defense but the game may come down to a moment of brilliance from an attacker (or several, but that may just be wishful thinking). Saka will lead the charge for the hosts but Atleti have their answer in Julian Alvarez, who has been one of the Champions League’s best attackers this season and has a similar knack of raising the whole team around him. Alvarez ranks inside the Champions League’s top five for goals and top six for assists, his creative abilities allowing the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Ademola Lookman to have their say in games when the time comes for it.
Is another classic in store? Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique teased last week’s meeting between his side and Bayern Munich as a match between Europe’s best teams and after a 5-4 thriller in the French capital, it is clear he was not kidding. How exactly the teams follow that up, though, is the big question – another nine goals seems unlikely but that does not mean the teams will not be willing and able to entertain in Munich on Wednesday, in large part because each of them is designed to do just that. This match is a dramatic foil to Tuesday’s semifinal, in that both PSG and Bayern are stylistically similar but prefer a full-throttle approach – and are very much committed to their strategies. Another high-intensity game featuring some of the game’s most skilled attackers makes this one a must-watch no matter one’s allegiances; the narrow margin of PSG’s first-leg advantage only adding to the entertaining nature of Wednesday’s game. If the second leg only has shades of the first, we are still poised to watch one of the competition’s greatest-ever two-legged ties.
