Champions League semi-finalists: Meet the teams

The four teams still in contention for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League have one hurdle left to clear before booking their ticket to the Budapest showpiece. We profile all the semi-finalists.

Arsenal (ENG)

League phase: W8 D0 L0 F23 A4 (1st place)
Round of 16: 3-1agg vs Leverkusen
Quarter-finals: 1-0agg vs Sporting CP
Top Fantasy Football points scorer: Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel (65)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 7
Last season: Semi-final (L1-3agg vs Paris)
Best European Cup performance: Runners-up (2005/06)

Why they can win the competition
Over the past three seasons, both domestically and in the Champions League, Arsenal have been consistently improving, and now they look to be on the verge of glory, ready to cash in all the experience they have accumulated. Two years ago, the Gunners made it to the quarter-finals; last year they bowed out in the semis. The next step is the 2026 final in Budapest. If they get there, Mikel Arteta's side have the resilience and firepower to get over the line.

How they play
Impenetrable at the back, lethal on set pieces and goals from every angle. Arteta's team can win matches in any number of ways, built on foundations that average a goal conceded every other game. But the fact that 12 outfield players have contributed to their goal tally shows that Arsenal are far from just a solid defensive outfit. Up front, Viktor Gyökeres is the missing piece of the puzzle to unleash the pace and trickery around him.

UEFA's Arsenal reporter, Joseph Terry: The league phase can be summed up in one word: perfect. No other team had gone through with a 100% winning record, plus Arsenal were top scorers and kept five clean sheets. In the round of 16, a hard-fought 1-1 first-leg draw in Leverkusen was followed by a comfortable 2-0 home win, before they edged past a stubborn Sporting CP 1-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. Arteta's men show demonstrable progress with every campaign in this competition, and the Gunners must surely be considered strong contenders for a spot in the Budapest showpiece.

Coach: Mikel Arteta
Assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City from 2016 to 2019, Arteta guided Arsenal to a 14th FA Cup in his first season in charge. After eighth and fifth-placed Premier League finishes in 2021 and 2022 respectively, Arteta's team have been runners-up in each of the last three campaigns.

Key player: Bukayo Saka
Saka came through the ranks before his breakout season with the Gunners in 2019/20. Blessed with pace and fine finishing ability, the right-winger passed 50 league goals and 250 total appearances for the club last term. An FA Cup winner in 2020, he has also played in the last two EURO finals for England.

Did you know?
Arsenal remain the only unbeaten side in the competition this season with ten wins and two draws from 12 matches. Going back further, they have lost only two of their last 22 Champions League games (W17 D3).

Atlético de Madrid (ESP)

League phase: W4 D1 L3 F17 A15 (14th place)
Knockout phase play-off: 7-4agg vs Club Brugge
Round of 16: 7-5agg vs Tottenham
Quarter-finals: 3-2agg vs Barcelona
Top Fantasy Football points scorer: Julián Alvarez (88)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 10
Last season: Round of 16 (2-2agg, L2-4pens vs Real Madrid)
Best European Cup performance: Runners-up (1973/74, 2013/14, 2015/16)

Why they can win the competition
Atleti are enjoying one of their highest-scoring seasons, with a deep squad and versatile players like Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann. This gives Diego Simeone an advantage this time round, as he can employ different game strategies throughout the knockout phase. Furthermore, although Julián Alvarez is their ace, they don't rely on a single player in their offensive line-up, as 12 players have scored in the Champions League this term.

How they play
With a style based on defensive organisation and strong pressure after losing possession, Atleti can unleash various formations, though a 4-4-2 serves as the foundation. In this versatile system, which allows for positional flexibility, Simeone's team currently features a more sophisticated and rapid ball movement, enabling them to make the most of their forwards. Accordingly, players like Griezmann are key due to their ability to read the game and provide options in the build-up.

UEFA's Atleti reporter, Juan Díaz: Atleti may have lost at home to Barcelona in the second leg of their quarter-final, but they have largely turned the Estadio Metropolitano into a fortress. The Rojiblancos won their first three home games, scoring ten goals and conceding just three, only losing the last on Matchday 8 when a top-eight place became unlikely. They returned to winning ways against Club Brugge in the knockout phase play-off second leg and earned what proved a crucial advantage against Tottenham with a 5-2 first-leg win in the last 16.

Coach: Diego Simeone
In his 15th season at the helm having arrived in December 2011, Simeone has qualified for the last 13 editions of the Champions League. As well as winning La Liga twice with Atleti, he has led the club to two Europa League triumphs, two UEFA Super Cups and two Champions League finals. The ultimate European crown has evaded him, though, and remains the one big trophy missing from his cabinet.

Key player: Julián Alvarez
His three goals and two assists over two legs against Tottenham – and especially the sense of danger he creates every time he has the ball – have made Alvarez the Rojiblancos' main attacking threat. The Argentinian striker, moreover, has strong support this season from Alexander Sørloth and Antoine Griezmann, who join him on the club's list of top scorers.

Did you know?
Alvarez has scored 15 goals in his last 19 Champions League appearances heading into the semi-finals.

Bayern München (GER)

League phase: W7 D0 L1 F22 A8 (2nd place)
Round of 16: 10-2agg vs Atalanta
Quarter-finals: 6-4agg vs Real Madrid
Top Fantasy Football points scorer: Harry Kane (88)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 1
Last season: Quarter-finals (L3-4agg vs Inter)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1973/74, 1974/75, 1975/76, 2000/01, 2012/13, 2019/20)

Why they can win the competition
With their aura of invincibility restored, Bayern's second season under Vincent Kompany has fans reminiscing of treble-winning campaigns under Jupp Heynckes and Hansi Flick. Luis Díaz and Michael Olise are the new Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben, while Harry Kane is enjoying a career-best campaign in front of goal. With Bayern scoring at a record-breaking rate, there's a sense that the only thing that can stop their push for a seventh title is the same thing that stopped them last season: injuries.

How they play
Bayern have added an extra dynamic to their free-flowing style in Kompany's second term. A structure rooted in Bayern's tried and tested 4-2-3-1 that morphs into a variety of systems to combat opponents' coverage, it’s a fine-tuned concept that gets the best out of Joshua Kimmich and Kane's passing profiles, while tapping into the devastating talents of the likes of Olise and Luis Díaz in wide areas.

UEFA's Bayern reporter, James Thorogood: In well under two seasons in one of the most demanding jobs in world football, Kompany has renewed Bayern's prestige. The German record titleholders had a point to prove after missing out on the top eight last season and are producing form reminiscent of the Heynckes, Flick or Pep Guardiola eras. The loss to Arsenal in London is the only blotch on an otherwise flawless campaign, which includes a convincing last-16 triumph over Atalanta, and a remarkable display of tenacity and resilience against Real Madrid in one of the games of the season in the quarter-finals.

Coach: Vincent Kompany
Kompany's first season in the Bayern dugout had its ups and downs: his side were eliminated in the German Cup round of 16 and the Champions League quarter-finals, but regained the Bundesliga title by a 13-point margin to complete their declared goal for the campaign. Once a defender for Man City and Belgium, Kompany's attacking style guarantees goals, but also involves risks.

Key player: Harry Kane
Since his summer 2023 move from Tottenham, Kane has been Bundesliga top scorer two seasons in a row. He has also averaged almost a goal a game in the Champions League, and with Jamal Musiala only recently returning from a fibula fracture, the German champions have been particularly reliant on Kane delivering.

Did you know?
Kane, who has 16 goals in his last 15 Champions League games going into the last four, has scored in the away leg of Bayern's quarter-final tie in each of the last three campaigns – against Arsenal in 2023/24, Inter in 2024/25, and Real Madrid in 2025/26.

Paris (FRA)

League phase: W4 D2 L2 F21 A11 (11th place)
Knockout phase play-off: 5-4agg vs Monaco
Round of 16: 8-2agg vs Chelsea
Quarter-finals: 4-0agg vs Liverpool
Top Fantasy Football points scorer: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (99)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 5
Last season: Winners (W5-0 vs Inter)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (2024/25)

Why they can win the competition
Question marks over Paris' ability to win this competition were quashed emphatically last May, and the confidence gained from that crowning moment has carried them into the semi-finals. While the side experienced a chequered league phase, their 8-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the round of 16 and 4-0 aggregate defeat of Liverpool in the quarter-finals both served as timely reminders of their attacking prowess. When they succeed in binding the tenets of their on-field philosophy together – individual brilliance, perpetual motion and bustling industry – they remain capable of steamrollering Europe's best.

How they play
Luis Enrique has moulded Paris into one of the great teams of the modern era. Marquinhos and Willian Pacho provide the defensive foundations, affording their nominal full-backs, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi, the licence to operate as auxiliary wingers and midfielders. Vitinha and João Neves are the metronomes in midfield, while Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are piercing presences across the front line.

UEFA's Paris reporter, Alex Clementson: October's rampant 7-2 victory over Leverkusen marked three wins from three for Paris, but their seamless progress then hit a snag. Defeats by Bayern and Sporting CP, and draws with Athletic Club and Newcastle, meant they finished 11th and again had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, where they were pushed all the way by Monaco.

Nevertheless, Paris were back to their brilliant best in the last 16 against Chelsea, cruising through what had looked like a tough challenge. Then came two convincing wins against Liverpool. Luis Enrique's men have been irrepressible at times, serving up performances reminiscent of their title-winning campaign, yet occasional lapses in concentration and, however paradoxical it sounds, struggles in converting chances will need to be remedied.

Coach: Luis Enrique
The ex-Barcelona and Real Madrid player won nine trophies during a hugely successful three-year spell in charge of the Blaugrana, then coached Spain to the EURO 2020 semi-finals and the 2021 Nations League final. He scooped a domestic double in his first season in Paris before steering them to their first Champions League title in a trophy-packed 2024/25 that also included Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.

Key player: Ousmane Dembélé
After a mixed first term with Paris, the former Dortmund and Barcelona forward proved decisive with 35 goals and 14 assists in 53 games in 2024/25. He was one of the key players in the team's Champions League triumph and finished top scorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals. Still only 28, Dembélé has passed 50 caps for France.

Did you know?
Paris have reached the semi-finals for a third consecutive season – something no French club had ever achieved in either the European Cup or Champions League era.

UEFA coefficients accurate as of the end of the quarter-finals.