Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw wasn’t the easiest, but it wasn’t the toughest either, with Liverpool, Manchester City and German heavyweight Bayern still in contention. The quarter-finals will be Chelsea VS Real Madrid, Manchester City VS Atletico Madrid, Villarreal VS Bayern Munich, Benfica VS Liverpool. The winner of the second semi-final (Benfica, Liverpool, Villarreal or Bayern Munich) will play the final on May 28 at the Stade de France, north of Paris. The draw at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon means the last winners Chelsea will face former manager Carlo Ancelotti in the quarters.
The semi-final draw ended with determining which part of the group would be considered the “home” team in the final for procedural purposes, despite the last being played on a neutral ground. Yes, for administrative reasons, a draw was made to determine the home team in the final—the winner of the second semi-final – the home team in the flagship on 28 May. In the first semi-final, the winner of Manchester City vs Atlético Madrid will be competing with the winner of Chelsea vs Real Madrid. In contrast, in the other semi-final, the winner of Benfica vs Liverpool will play the winner of Villarreal vs Bayern Munich.
If the quarter-finals of the next few months take shape, we can expect Manchester City-Real Madrid in one semi-final and Bayern-Liverpool in another so that no one can claim either club will get through. All this way this season, on the way back quickly to the finals. The path to the closing of the Champions League in Paris on May 28 Paris is now clear after drawing eight finals and semifinals of opponents. The prospect of a heavyweight conflict at the Stade de France remains with favourites Liverpool and Manchester City and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, who were sidelined on their way to the top. The winner of the third quarter-final will play Liverpool, six-time UEFA Champions League winners, or Portugal’s Benfica, who last won the European Cup in 1962.
The last time teams from the same country faced each other in a quarter-final or semi-final was in 2019/20, when Tottenham beat Manchester City on penalties in the quarter-finals and eventually reached the final before losing to Liverpool. The first semi-final matches will take place on April 26/27, and the return legs on May 3/4. The semi-final draw could unite last year’s finalists or see a rematch from the 2014 and 2016 finals when Real beat La Liga champions Atlético Madrid twice.
After a long time, we can see the top teams in the European leagues go head to head. It will be exciting to see who goes in the further stages.
