This season’s Champions League semi-finalists reached the last four with an average aggregate winning margin in the quarter-finals of four goals, making them the most comfortable set of semi-final qualifiers in the Champions League era (post-1992).
The diagrams below depict their tactical line-ups from the first legs of their quarter-final ties, before there were any leads to be defended or deficits to be overturned.
NB: The diagrams show average positions from the first half of matches only, so as to provide a clear indication of how the teams approached each game in terms of formation.
Schalke: 4-4-1-1
The average positions of Schalke's players in the first half of their 5-2 victory at Internazionale in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final; UEFA
[Squad numbers: 1. Manuel Neuer; 22. Atsuto Uchida, 4. Benedikt Höwedes, 32. Joël Matip, 2. Hans Sarpei; 17. Jefferson Farfán, 14. Kyriakos Papadopoulos, 18. José Manuel Jurado, 11. Alexander Baumjohann; 7. Raúl; 9. Edu]
Manchester United: 4-2-3-1
The average positions of Manchester United's players in the first half of their 1-0 victory at Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final; UEFA
[Squad numbers: 1. Edwin van der Sar; 21. Rafael, 5. Rio Ferdinand, 15. Nemanja Vidić, 3. Patrice Evra; 16. Michael Carrick, 11. Ryan Giggs; 25. Antonio Valencia, 10. Wayne Rooney, 13. Park Ji-Sung; 14. Javier Hernández]
Real Madrid: 4-2-3-1
The average positions of Real Madrid's players in the first half of their 4-0 victory at home to Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final; UEFA
[Squad numbers: 1. Iker Casillas; 4. Sergio Ramos, 3. Pepe, 2. Ricardo Carvalho, 12. Marcelo; 14. Xabi Alonso, 24. Sami Khedira; 22. Ángel di María, 23. Mesut Özil, 7. Cristiano Ronaldo; 28. Emmanuel Adebayor]
Barcelona: 4-3-3
The average positions of Barcelona's players in the first half of their 5-1 victory at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final; UEFA
[Squad numbers: 1. Víctor Valdes; 2. Dani Alves, 16. Sergio Busquets, 3. Gerard Piqué, 21. Adriano; 14. Javier Mascherano, 6. Xavi, 15. Seydou Keita; 7. David Villa, 10, Lionel Messi, 8. Andrés Iniesta]
