Are Bayern and Real Madrid now Europe's big two?
Thursday, April 14, 2016
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There are few guesses required as to who are the pre-eminent forces in the modern game. UEFA.com assesses what the semi-final lineup tells us about the state of European football.
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• Bayern München and Real Madrid are into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for at least the fifth season running.
• Madrid are through to a sixth successive UEFA Champions League semi-final, surpassing Barcelona's 2008/09–2012/13 record of five. Bayern themselves made it five on Wednesday.
• The last time neither Bayern nor Real Madrid failed to make it to the last four was 2008/09.
• The odds are firmly stacked against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid: since Marseille won the first edition in 1992/93, only two sides have won the UEFA Champions League who had not previously won the European Champion Clubs' Cup – Borussia Dortmund in 1996/97 and Chelsea in 2011/12. Dortmund are the only side to win the new competition in their first UEFA Champions League or European Cup final appearance.
• Most UEFA Champions League semi-final appearances by club (inc 2016):
11: Barcelona
11: Real Madrid
10: Bayern München
7: Chelsea, Manchester United
6: AC Milan, Juventus
3: Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Monaco
2: Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Internazionale Milano, Porto, Valencia
1: Deportivo La Coruña, Dynamo Kyiv, Leeds United, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, Nantes, Panathinaikos, Paris Saint-Germain, Schalke, Lyon, PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal
• UEFA Champions League semi-finalists by nation:
27: Spain (six clubs: Atlético, Barcelona, Deportivo, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal)
21: England (six clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United)
14: Italy (three clubs: AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus)
15: Germany (four clubs: Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Schalke)
6: France (four clubs: Lyon, Monaco, Nantes, Paris)
4: Netherlands (two clubs: Ajax, PSV)
2: Portugal (one club: Porto)
1: Greece (Panathinaikos), Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv)
Semi-final lineups by season
15/16: Atlético, Bayern, Manchester City, Real Madrid
14/15: Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid
13/14: Atlético, Bayern, Chelsea, Real Madrid
12/13: Barcelona, Bayern, Dortmund, Real Madrid
11/12: Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, Real Madrid
10/11: Barcelona, Man. United, Real Madrid, Schalke
09/10: Barcelona, Bayern, Internazionale, Lyon
08/09: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Man. United
07/08: Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man. United
06/07: AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man. United
05/06: AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Villarreal
04/05: AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, PSV
03/04: Chelsea, Deportivo, Monaco, Porto
02/03: AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus, Real Madrid
01/02: Barcelona, Leverkusen, Man. United, Real Madrid
00/01: Bayern, Leeds, Real Madrid, Valencia
99/00: Barcelona, Bayern, Valencia, Real Madrid
98/99: Bayern, Dynamo Kyiv, Juventus, Man. United
97/98: Dortmund, Juventus, Monaco, Real Madrid
96/97: Ajax, Dortmund, Juventus, Man. United
95/96: Ajax, Juventus, Nantes, Panathinaikos
94/95: AC Milan, Ajax, Bayern, Paris
93/94: AC Milan, Barcelona, Monaco, Porto
92/93: No semi-finals*
*No semi-finals in 1992/93; top side from each of the two groups – Marseille and AC Milan – went straight to the final.