Chelsea drawn with Real Madrid while Manchester City to face Bayern Munich: The Champions League quarter-final and semi-final fixtures for this season have been set.
Eight clubs remain in Europe’s premier club competition following this week’s last batch of Round of 16 second-leg ties.
Last Friday, the draw in Nyon, Switzerland determined the fate of three Italian clubs (AC Milan, Inter, Napoli), two English sides (Chelsea and Manchester City), one Spanish side (Real Madrid), one German outfit (Bayern Munich), and one Portuguese club (Benfica).
The Round of 16 featured some crushing two-legged victories for several of the aforementioned sides.
Manchester City crushed RB Leipzig 8-1 in total, Benfica crushed Club Brugge 7-1 in two matches, Real Madrid beat Liverpool 5-2 in total, and Napoli, the leaders of Serie A, beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 in two games.
Champions League 2022-23: Quarter-final draw
Here’s the Champions League quarter-final draw in full:
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Inter Milan vs Benfica
Manchester City vs Bayern Munich
AC Milan vs Napoli
Champions League 2022-23: Semi-final draw
AC Milan / Napoli vs Inter Milan / Benfica
Here’s the Champions League semi-final draw in full:
Real Madrid / Chelsea vs Manchester City / Bayern Munich
When are the quarter-final ties?
The first legs of the four quarter-final ties will be played on April 11 and 12, while the second legs are scheduled for April 18 and 19.
When are the semi-final ties?
Meanwhile, the first legs of the two semi-final ties will be played on May 9 and 10, with the second legs pencilled in for May 16 and 17.
Where is this season’s Champions League final?
This season’s Champions League final takes place on June 10 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul – home of the Turkish national team.
The 74,000-capacity venue famously hosted the legendary 2005 Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool.
Milan were 3-0 up before half-time but their English opponents were back on level terms by the 61st minute after staging a miracle comeback.
Liverpool then went on to become European champions for the first time after beating the Italian giants on penalties.
Which team will win this season’s Champions League?
It’s a wide-open Champions League campaign but the favourites – at least in the bookies’ eyes – are Manchester City.
The English side are, once again, aiming to become champions of Europe for the first time in their history.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be a threat to any of the teams left in the competition, especially with the prolific Erling Haaland upfront.
The Norwegian scored five goals against Club Brugge on Tuesday, equalling the record for most goals in a single Champions League match held by Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano.
Bayern Munich are the bookies’ second favourites, followed by Napoli (whose stars Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are two of the most in-form players in Europe) and then Real Madrid – who, as we’re all aware, have a unique relationship with this competition.
Chelsea drawn with Real Madrid: Prediction
