The quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League have all been decided. Two Korean players, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, will continue their challenge for the championship.

The second leg of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 has been completed. In the latest match, Real Madrid won a penalty shootout against Atletico Madrid after the aggregate score was tied in the first and second legs, advancing to the quarterfinals.

This UCL saw the largest number of Korean players from the most diverse teams ever. Among them, Seol Young-woo (Crvena Zvezda) and Kim Min-soo (Girona) were eliminated in the league phase, while Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic) failed to advance past the playoffs for the tournament. Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) was unable to participate, and his team was eliminated in the round of 16, while Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) advanced to the quarterfinals.

PSG's quarterfinal opponent is Aston Villa. The first leg will be on April 10th, and the second leg will be on the 16th. PSG finished 15th in the league phase with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses, and had to go through the playoffs. However, in the round of 16, they survived a close match that went to a penalty shootout against title contender Liverpool, and their performance was superior. They are evaluated as rising. On the other hand, Villa advanced directly to the round of 16 in 8th place in the league phase and strengthened their power through active recruitment, but realistically, they are considered the weakest team among the quarterfinalists in many aspects, such as their domestic ranking and UCL experience. They are the best opponent in the quarterfinals, where there are no easy teams.

Kim Min-jae's team Bayern will face Italian powerhouse Inter Milan in the quarterfinals. The first leg will be on April 9th, and the second leg will be on the 17th. Bayern, which finished 12th in the league phase with 5 wins and 3 losses and had to play a playoff with Celtic, has been generally underperforming in this UCL. However, they are gradually gaining strength after crushing Bayer 04 Leverkusen with a combined score of 5-0 in the round of 16. Inter smoothly passed the league phase with 6 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, and in the round of 16, they defeated Feyenoord with 2 wins.

Bayern and Inter are the strongest teams in their respective countries, so they have participated in the UCL often and have met often. Bayern has the upper hand in their head-to-head record with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. The most recent meeting was in the 2022-2023 season group stage, where Bayern won both matches. However, Inter won the most impressive matchup. In the 2009-2010 season, Inter, led by manager Jose Mourinho, achieved the club's first treble because they defeated Bayern in the UCL final.

Kim Min-jae also has a memory of facing Inter, having experienced the Italian Serie A. At the time, he was a member of Napoli and recorded 1 win and 1 loss against Inter.

Arsenal vs. Real Madrid and Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund matches were also held. Based on the league rankings of each team, the true 'champion match' is the match between Germany's 1st place Bayern and Italy's 1st place Inter. The match between England's 2nd place Arsenal and Spain's 2nd place Real is the second in terms of league rankings.