Then There Were Four... - Champions League Semifinals Time!

The best Champions League quarterfinals round ever has now been completed. There was plenty of drama, quality football and the odd surprise but after all that, we now have our four Champions League semifinalists.

How do their chances rate not considering the luck of the draw that is to be made on Friday? Here they are.

Bayern Munich - still easily the favourites despite not looking the most convincing against the worst Manchester United side to play in the competition for some time, Bayern will definitely take plenty of lessons from their thrilling fortnight against whoever their next challenge will be. Even a goal down twice, Bayern still had enough composure and quality to ensure they weren't behind for too long and finally turned all that possession and time on the ball into goals and finished off United in their tie. Most importantly, unlike the other 3 sides, they can fully concentrate on the competition having already wrapped up the league title a fortnight ago - potentially a big advantage over their rivals.

Chelsea - I rate them as the 2nd favourite team here simply because of Jose. Chelsea may not have the talent and consistency of the other 3 teams but they still have by far the greatest tactical mastermind in world football management - up against the odds needing 2 clear goals to beat PSG and progress to the next round, Mourinho pushed his team further up the field with a three-pronged attack led by the much maligned Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. It was a brilliant masterstroke which gave them the result they wanted and deserved and they can look forward to making their 2nd final in 3 seasons with the belief they have right now.

Atletico Madrid - Their shock triumph over the team considered the best club side in the world until recently, has had many more football fans talking them up now as not only the best team in Spain but possibly even in Europe. Their performance at the Camp Nou was superb as they neutralized the threats of Neymar and Messi and but for a slip in defence, should have come away with a win at Barcelona's home turf. As it was, they took plenty of encouragement from that 1-1 draw and utterly outplayed the Catalans at home - Atletico should have won 3-0 rather than 1-0 and that performance must surely place coach Diego Simeone and many of his no-name players on top of football's most wanted list. Even if European glory eludes them this season, it has been a highly memorable season for the other Madrid club and their fans who have experienced so many highs and lows in 20 years.

Real Madrid - Surprisingly the underdog here but that performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion probably has them down a few notches. Without Ronaldo, they lack leadership even if they have the talents of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Isco and Angel di Maria, and against more effective sides like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid are a much more vulnerable side. However, they do have the talent to be champions and given that their hopes of winning La Liga are getting slimmer with each weekend, another record European Cup win could be the boost that the galacticos would like.

Stay tuned for the semifinal draw this Friday!