Champions League

FC Basel stunned Fiorentina on Thursday with a 2-1 victory away at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the Europa Conference League. If they can hold on to their aggregate lead at home, then Basel will be headed to the final. This begs the question, has a Swiss club ever made a European final?

Has a Swiss club ever made a European final?

No.

A Swiss team has yet to win a major European trophy or even appear in a final. The semifinal is the closest one has ever come.

While Erling Haaland was struggling to free himself from Antonio Rüdiger during Manchester City's 1-1 draw versus Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday night, his father Alf-Inge was having an intense confrontation with Real Madrid fans in the Santiago Bernabéu stands. 

Alfie was a guest in one of the stadium's VIP boxes and had several exchanges with Real Madrid supporters, including some caught on camera.

MADRID - Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti believes that gaining a mental advantage over Manchester City will be as important as the result when the two teams meet at Santiago Bernabéu in their Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday.

Ancelotti said that beating Osasuna 2-1 to clinch the Copa del Rey title on Saturday had given his side a much needed confidence boost after a run of poor results as they prepare to host Pep Guardiola's team who are in superb form.

UEFA will involve fans in the "planning and execution" of finals, it said on Friday as it announced plans to implement recommendations made by an independent panel following the chaos at the 2022 Champions League showpiece.

The Champions League final was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match on May 28, which Real Madrid won 1-0.

A resurgence in form is unlikely to help Liverpool qualify for next season's Champions League as fourth-placed Manchester United are unlikely to slip up on the home stretch, manager Jürgen Klopp said on Friday.

Liverpool are on a five-match winning streak that lifted them up to fifth in the Premier League, four points behind United who have a game in hand, but Klopp does not expect their rivals to drop points.

Our 2023 UEFA Champions League semifinal predictions are coming in hot with certified locks for a rematch of last year's instant classic between Real Madrid-Manchester City and a historic Derby della Madonnina between rivals Inter and AC Milan.

Who will contest the final on June 10 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul? Let's turn to our collection of Nostradamus-minded folks to find out.

UEFA Champions League semifinal predictions 2023

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

When two teams are so evenly matched, the old cliché dictates that an individual piece of genius or a horrendous mistake will ultimately decide the outcome.

For Arsenal and Wolfsburg — with the score level at 4-4 on aggregate after nearly 190 minutes of action across the two legs — it was the unfortunate error that ultimately decided the tie.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes probably had to deliver the most difficult team talk of her career after training on Wednesday. Looking ahead to tomorrow's Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona, she had to convince her team to forget about Caroline Graham Hansen's exceptional strike at Stamford Bridge, giving Barça a 1-0 advantage, then she had to prepare her team for the vociferous cauldron of noise they're about to face inside the Camp Nou.