BEVERLY HILLS, March 19, (THEWILL) –Â The quarter-final draws for the UEFA Champions League have thrown up very interesting matchups for the next round. In two of the top picks, the champions from the 2018/2019 season Liverpool
will contend against the UCL’s most successful team of all time Real Madrid while defending champions Bayern will clash with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in a repeat of last year’s final.
To qualify for the last eight, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds brushed aside Bundesliga side RB Leipzig but a stiff climb awaits them when they travel to the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano for the first leg against Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid. Neither of the sides have been at their clinical best but on a good day, there is a lot of tactical and determined delivery that can turn the fixtures around either way.
Whichever side sails through from that pairing will go on to face the victor in the matchup between Portuguese Primeira Liga’s Porto, who came through against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus in the last 16 round, and the impregnable EPL club Chelsea, that saw of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
While Chelsea will battle progression against the Portuguese side, EPL counterparts Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will hope to scale past the challenge of another German opponent in Borussia Dortmund for a slot in the semis.
City’s unprecedented chase for a historic quadruple will fuel their ambitions of going all the way. They will be favourites against Dortmund but it will be foolhardiness to overlook the challenge of the German side’s gifted forward Erling Haaland and the danger he poses over a two-legged encounter.
However, Guardiola’s defensive anchors spearheaded by Ruben Dias, City’s midfielder structure commanded by Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Fodden supplying an attack of Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and the pacy Raheem Sterling is a handful to handle.
Between City and Dortmund, the winner will have to face either defending champions Bayern or defeated finalists PSG over two legs to have a shot at the finals by qualifying for the semis.
For the other semi, there is the potential for an all-Premier League affair if Liverpool can exorcise the demons of the 2017/2018 European campaign and negotiate their way past Los Blancos. In the same vein, Chelsea will have to be at their best to get past the resilient Porto team, with what appears, on paper, to be favourable draw for Thomas Tuchel’s men.
2020/21 UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
FC Porto vs Chelsea
Bayern Munich vs PSG
Real Madrid vs Liverpool
2020/21 UEFA Champions League semi-final draw
Bayern Munich or PSG vs Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid or Liverpool vs FC Porto vs Chelsea
All quarter-final first legs will be played on April 6/7, with the return legs the following week later on April 13/14.
There will then be a short break from European football before the semi-final first legs on April 27/28, followed by the second legs a week later on May 4/5.
The final for the 2020/2021 UCL final takes place on May 29 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, which was supposed to be the venue for last season’s final but for the COVID-19 outbreak.
