Meet the UEFA Youth League semi-finalists: Benfica vs Club Brugge, Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain

Benfica will play Club Brugge and Real Madrid face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Youth League semi-finals in Lausanne on Friday 17 April.

Stade de la Tuilière will host the finals due to renovation works at the regular Swiss venue, Colovray Stadium in Nyon. We profile the contenders aiming to reach the final on Monday 20 April.

Team guide

• The semi-finals feature two former champions (Benfica and Real Madrid), another past finalist (Paris), and a newcomer at this stage (Club Brugge).
• For the third year running, no club have made the four-team finals two seasons in succession.
• All four remaining teams emerged from the UEFA Champions League path: Benfica (2nd place in league table), Club Brugge (3rd), Real Madrid (4th) and Paris (13th).

Benfica vs Club Brugge

• This is these teams' first UEFA Youth League meeting.

Benfica

League phase: 7-1 h vs Qarabağ, 2-5 a vs Chelsea, 5-1 h vs Newcastle United, 5-0 h vs Bayer Leverkusen, 4-0 a vs Ajax, 3-0 h vs Napoli (2nd place)
Round of 32: 3-2 h vs Slavia Praha
Round of 16: 6-1 h vs AZ Alkmaar
Quarter-finals: 3-2 a vs Inter

Top scorers: Gonçalo Moreira, Francisco Silva 9
Previous best: Winners (2021/22)

Previous finals matches (semi-finals onward):
2021/22: 2-2, 4-3pens vs Juventus (semi-finals), 6-0 vs Salzburg (final)
2019/20: 3-0 vs Ajax (semi-finals), 2-3 vs Real Madrid (final)
2016/17: 4-2 vs Real Madrid (semi-finals), 1-2 vs Salzburg (final)
2013/14: 4-0 vs Real Madrid (semi-finals), 0-3 vs Barcelona (final)

• Benfica have scored 38 goals in their campaign, overtaking the previous best of 36 set by Chelsea in 2014/15; they have also equalled Barcelona's record of five semi-finals (along with Madrid) and can become the first club to reach the final five times – they share the current mark of four with Chelsea.

Club Brugge

League phase: 1-0 h vs Monaco 2-0 a vs Atalanta, 3-0 a vs Bayern München, 2-0 h vs Barcelona, 1-2 a vs Sporting CP, 2-1 h vs Arsenal (3rd place)
Round of 32: 3-2 h vs Monaco
Round of 16: 1-0 a vs Žilina
Quarter-finals: 4-0 a vs Atlético de Madrid

Top scorer: Yanis Musuayi 5
Previous best: Knockout play-offs (2019/20, 2021/22)

Previous finals matches (semi-finals onward):
Finals debut

• Have matched Belgium's best-ever run, when Anderlecht reached the semi-finals in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain

• Paris beat Madrid 3-1 in the 2015/16 semi-finals in Nyon. Madrid had won 1-0 in Paris in the 2013/14 quarter-finals and these teams also faced off in the 2015/16 group stage, both matches ending in home victories, and again in 2019/20, eventual champions Madrid prevailing 6-3 at home and 2-1 away.

Real Madrid

League phase: 3-2 h vs Marseille, 4-1 a vs Kairat Almaty, 1-0 h vs Juventus, 4-0 a vs Liverpool, 2-0 a vs Olympiacos, 0-4 h vs Manchester City (4th place)
Round of 32: 5-2 h vs Marseille
Round of 16: 1-0 h vs Chelsea
Quarter-finals: 2-1 h vs Sporting CP

Top scorers: Jaime Barroso, Roberto Martín, Jacobo Ortega 3
Previous best: Winners (2019/20)

Previous finals matches (semi-finals onward):
2019/20: 2-1 vs Salzburg (semi-finals), 3-2 vs Benfica (final)
2016/17: 2-4 vs Benfica (semi-finals)
2015/16:1-3 vs Paris Saint-Germain (semi-finals)
2013/14: 0-4 vs Benfica (semi-finals)

• Have reached at least the round of 16 in all 12 editions and an umatched nine quarter-finals, and in the course of this season became the first club to play 100 matches in this competition.

Paris Saint-Germain

League phase: 5-1 h vs Atalanta, 1-2 a vs Barcelona, 2-2 a vs Bayer Leverkusen, 3-0 h vs Bayern München, 5-2 h vs Tottenham Hotspur, 1-1 a vs Athletic Club (13th place)
Round of 32: 4-0 h vs Dinamo-Minsk
Round of 16: 6-1 h vs HJK Helsinki
Quarter-finals: 1-0 a vs Villarreal

Top scorers: Adam Ayari, Pierre Mounguengue 5
Previous best: Runners-up (2015/16)

Previous finals matches (semi-finals onward):
2015/16: 3-1 vs Real Madrid (semi-finals), 1-2 vs Chelsea (final)

• Aim to be only the fifth club to reach the final more than once after Benfica (4), Chelsea (4), Barcelona (3) and Salzburg (2).