March 19 – European heavyweights Paris St. Germain and Manchester City will both have to do it the hard way if they are to clinch the Champions League title for the first time following the quarter-final and semi-final draws made today.
PSG, under recently appointed manager Mauricio Pochettino, face the team who beat them in last year’s final, Bayern Munich. And whoever wins that will play City in the semis, provided Pep Guardiola’s side first overcome Borussia Dortmund.
That half of the draw is arguably the strongest with Chelsea up against Porto in the other half and Real Madrid taking on Liverpool, with the prospect of an all-English semi-final.
City’s tie with Borussia Dortmund pits the best defence in this season’s competition against the top scorer, Norway’s Erling Haaland.
The quarter-final line-up is the first without either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo since 2005 but includes six previous champions. The final will take place on Saturday, May 29 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, which was set to host the 2020 showpiece before Covid postponed the tournament.
Quarter-final draw:
Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
Porto v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Paris St Germain
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Semi-final draw:
Bayern Munich or Paris St-Germain v Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid or Liverpool v Porto or Chelsea
In the Europa League, Manchester United’s reward for knocking out AC Milan is a tie against Granada. Arsenal will face Slavia Prague, Ajax have been drawn against Roma, while Dinamo Zagreb – who stunned Tottenham Hotspur by wiping out a two-goal first leg deficit – play Villarreal.
In the semi-finals, the winner of the Granada v Manchester United tie will play Ajax or Roma while Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal will play Arsenal or Slavia Prague, with the prospect of yet another all-English final.
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