Holders Real draw Chelsea in Champions League quarters, City meet Bayern | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Real Madrid will be up against 2021 winners Chelsea in the Champions League quarters while Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were paired with Bayern Munich in Friday’s draw.
It will also be an Italian showdown in the last-eight as Serie A leaders Napoli face AC Milan and Inter Milan lock horns with Portuguese league leaders Benfica.
Real, who beat Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate last year for the title, will once again be up against another English side after Chelsea handed Borussia Dortmund their first loss of the year in Round of 16 and and marched into quarters with a 2-1 aggregate win.

The winners of Real’s tie against Chelsea will go on to face either City or Bayern in the semi-finals, throwing open the possibility of an all-English last-four tie.
That also increases the chances of seeing an Italian team reach the final for the first time since Juventus in 2017, as Inter will play either Milan or Napoli in the last four should the Nerazzurri beat Benfica.
The quarter-final first legs will be played on April 11 and 12, with Real entertaining Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu first before travelling to London for the return a week later, and City at home to Bayern first.
Inter were drawn to play Benfica at home initially but will now travel to Lisbon for the first leg to avoid a clash with AC Milan’s meeting with Napoli at San Siro.

The semi-finals will be played in May with the final in Istanbul scheduled for Saturday, June 10.
(With inputs from AFP)