Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Real Madrid will play Chelsea in quarter-finals of CL

Real Madrid will play Chelsea in quarter-finals of CL

Real Madrid will play Chelsea in quarter-finals of CL

Real Madrid will play Chelsea in quarter-finals of CL

Advertisement
  • Real Madrid will play Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the CL.
  • Bayern team that eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round.
  • Benfica has never reached the Champions League semifinals.
Advertisement

For the second year in a row, holders Real Madrid will play Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals, while Manchester City will play Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola’s former team, in Friday’s draw.

In an all-Italian matchup, Napoli, the champion of Serie A, takes on AC Milan, and Inter Milan faces Benfica, the champion of the Portuguese league.

The possibility of an all-English last-four match exists because the winner of Real’s match against Chelsea will face either City or Bayern in the semis.

Inter will play either Milan or Napoli in the last four if the Nerazzurri defeat Benfica, increasing the likelihood of an Italian team reaching the final for the first time since Juventus in 2017.

The path Real take to win their 15th European Cup is beginning to look remarkably like the path they took last year, when they defeated Liverpool in the final before beating Chelsea and City.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team is coming off a win over Liverpool in the round of 16 and will be hoping for a repeat of last year, when they beat Chelsea in the quarterfinals 5-4 on an aggregate and Karim Benzema scored a hat trick in the first leg in London.

Advertisement

In 2021, the two teams also met in the semifinals, where Stamford Bridge prevailed to win the trophy for the second time.

A Bayern team that eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round presents a significant obstacle to City’s ongoing attempt to win the Champions League for the first time.

Since the 2014/15 group stage, when Guardiola was in charge of the German giants, this will be their first meeting.

In 2016, Guardiola left Bayern to join City, but he still wants to win the Champions League for the first time since winning it twice with Barcelona in 2011.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said, “It will be a reunion with Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland, old acquaintances from the Bundesliga.”

“To win the Champions League you need to beat the best teams. That is the challenge and we accept it.”

Advertisement

The draw appears to be uneven, with Italian clubs in the opposite half of the competition and the four richest clubs remaining on the same side.

No Serie A team made it past the last 16 a year ago, but Napoli, the dominant Italian league leader, will now face the team that won the domestic title last year.

Napoli won 2-1 away to Milan in the association recently and are because of host the seven-time European bosses in Serie An on April 2, simply a week and a half before the principal leg of their Heroes Association tie.

Inter’s matchup with Benfica brings together two teams that have won the trophy five times between them, while Napoli is the only club remaining in the competition other than City that has never won it.

Benfica has never reached the Champions League semifinals and lost to Liverpool in the last eight a year ago.

Inter, which is 18 points behind Napoli in second place in Serie A, hasn’t made the semifinals since 2010, when they won the Champions League for the first time under Jose Mourinho.

Advertisement

In the Champions League semifinals, AC Milan and Inter Milan would meet, as they did in 2003 when AC Milan defeated Inter Milan using the now-defunct away goals rule.

The first legs of the quarterfinals will be played on April 11 and 12. Real Madrid will play Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu before traveling to London to play City against Bayern at home.

In order to avoid clashing with Milan’s matchup with Napoli at the San Siro, Inter will now travel to Lisbon for the first leg instead of playing Benfica at home.

The semifinals will be held in May, and the final will be held on June 10 in Istanbul.

Also Read

Real Madrid defeats Liverpool & advances to CL quarter finals
Real Madrid defeats Liverpool & advances to CL quarter finals

Real Madrid defeats Liverpool & advances to CL quarter-finals. Jurgen Klopp acknowledged...

Advertisement
Advertisement
Read More News On

Catch all the Sports News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News


Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Follow us on Google News.


End of Article

Next Story