The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals has been carried out.
The round of 16 gave us some thrilling ties. The standout tie came between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, with Los Blancos turning around a two-goal deficit thanks to Karim Benzema’s hat-trick in the second leg.
Benzema wasn’t the only forward to go home with the match ball. Robert Lewandowski also bagged a treble in Bayern Munich’s second leg thrashing of RB Salzburg, seeing off the Austrian side after a scare in the first leg.
Liverpool managed to progress to the quarter-finals to keep their hopes of a quadruple alive, largely thanks to a 2-0 victory in the first leg against Inter Milan. Lautaro Martinez’s stunner at Anfield put the Reds under threat, but it ultimately proved to be meaningless.
Fellow Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea also made it through to the final eight. The former comfortably defeated Sporting CP, while Chelsea beat Lille 4-1 on aggregate.
But it wasn’t all good news for the English clubs. Manchester United crashed out against Atletico Madrid, with Renan Lodi’s header at Old Trafford being enough to take Los Rojiblancos through.
There were a couple of shocks in the other two ties. Juventus made it three consecutive round of 16 exits after falling to a 3-0 defeat at home to Villarreal, while Ajax were eliminated by Benfica thanks to Darwin Nunez’s late header.
Following the draw, the bracket for the quarter-finals and the semi-finals has now been determined.
The big tie of the quarter-finals comes between Chelsea and Real Madrid, in a repeat of last season’s semi-final. Furthermore, Atletico Madrid are set for another trip to Manchester, as they were drawn against Man City.
The semi-final draw has set us up for some potentially fascinating ties. We could have an all-English semi-final or a Madrid derby, as the winners of Man City vs Atletico Madrid face the winners of Chelsea vs Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, it is looking likely that Liverpool will face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
The first legs of the quarter-finals will be played after the international break on April 5/6, with the return legs being played a week later. The semi-finals will take place from April 26 to May 4. The final is set to be hosted at the Stade de France on May 28.
Quarter-final draw
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid
Villarreal vs Bayern Munich
Benfica vs Liverpool
Semi-final draw
Manchester City/Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea/Real Madrid
Benfica/Liverpool vs Villarreal/Bayern Munich
