Man City and Erling Haaland look to capture elusive trophy

the Celtics. With big men Al Horford and Robert Williams III in the paint, “the Jays” — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — on the wings, and taller guards Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon, the Celtics have a mismatch in every single position on the court. There was, therefore, no surprise that many analysts predicted a Celtics sweep in this first-round matchup.

A sweep was seemingly in sight as the Celtics won by 13 in both of their first games at home, but the Hawks fought back last Friday and defended their home court in Atlanta. Despite outstanding three-point shooting from the Celtics, a tough corner trifecta from Dejounte Murray and clutch-time Trae Young floater helped the Hawks pull through in game three. The Celtics bounced back on Sunday with masterclass scoring from Brown and Tatum, who both tallied 31 points for the win, and 15 rebounds from Williams III. The Celtics are now 3–1 in the series, and just one win away from advancing to the second round.

For the most part, the Celtics are

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superteam,

a Spanish powerhouse, and two dark horses from Milan. Who will prevail?

By JOSH GANS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

With only four teams left in the 2022-23 Union of European Football Associations Champions League campaign, there are many captivating storylines to discuss.

One side of the bracket sees the dominant Real Madrid squaring off with powerhouse Manchester City in a rematch of last year’s iconic semifinal. The other side features two teams from Milan fighting for the pride of the city on top of a spot in the final.

The quarterfinal eliminated some gigantic names from the pool. Perhaps the biggest of these was Bayern Munich — one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. They were wiped out in the first leg 3-0 at the hands of Manchester City. It showcased some of the world's best talent with evenly matched teams, but the English side broke away in the second half to make a potential second leg comeback insurmountable. The second leg in Munich was not as intense as the first, considering Bayern had it all to play for. The most riveting headline of that match was the dominant Erling Haaland skying a penalty, but he inevitably made up for it by scoring later in a 1-1 draw, giving him an inconceivable 48 goals across all competitions in his first season with the Blues.

Speaking of inevitability, Real Madrid is still in the mix. 14-time European champions and current holders of the trophy, the Spanish giants were always destined to make it back to the final four. They easily handled Chelsea, who did not have the same fate as their English counterparts in Manchester. The first leg in Madrid was a 2-0 cruise, with Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell receiving a red card for taking down Rodrygo as the last man back. Chelsea still had hope entering the second leg, but Los Blancos cruised again with two second half goals capping off a 4-0 aggregate win. Chelsea continues its nightmarish season, confirming it will not win a trophy or be back in the Champions League next season. The other side of the bracket had less coverage, but still had great storylines. It was a tale of underdogs compared to the first side of the bracket with three Italian teams and one Portuguese. In Lisbon, Italian giants Inter Milan took a commanding 2-0 aggregate lead. Back in Milan for the second leg, Inter failed to win at home for the fourth consecutive match, drawing 3-3 in a thriller. However, this was enough to push them through, 5-3 in aggregate.

AC Milan versus Napoli was the most enticing, evenly matched affair in the quarterfinals. Two massive Italian clubs with a historic rivalry, Napoli was favored to pull through. They have been dominant in the Italian Serie A league this season, currently sitting 17 points clear at the summit, while Milan fights for a top four spot and a place in next season’s Champions League. Napoli also cruised through their round of