Ranking Real Madrid's opponents in the Champions League Semifinals

The stage for Friday's Champions League Semifinals draw is set after Atlético de Madrid and Bayern Munich knocked out Barcelona and Benfica yesterday. Real Madrid and Manchester City complete a somewhat surprising draw and plenty of Madrid fans will be thinking about which team should Madrid want to face in the next round. It's clear that those three teams deserve respect and that Los Blancos will need to play their best football to beat them. Nothing comes easy in the Champions League Semifinals.

1. Manchester City. They have absolutely nothing to lose and their offensive line is very dangerous, but Madrid should definitely beat the British side over two legs. Against them, Los Blancos would have the opportunity to control the ball and dictate the tempo of the game, and City are not very solid defensively, something that could punish them down the road.
2. Atlético de Madrid. Sometimes they play better than Bayern, but Simeone and his men would let Madrid dominate the game as well and that would give Los Blancos more chances. It's hard to see a scenario in which Atleti completely destroy Real, so Zidane's men would always have a chance to go through until the very last minute of the tie, and that's enough to put them ahead of Bayern.
3. FC Bayern. Their defensive line is shaky to say the least but if things go their possession-oriented style can definitely shut down Madrid. It's clear that Los Blancos could enjoy playing some counterattacking football and they would also have their chances against Bayern, but it would be better to avoid them for the moment.