While there is no English interest left in this season’s Champions League , the draw this morning from Nyon threw up some interesting ties.
By Declan Whooley
The national rivals were kept apart as Barcelona and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund can only meet if they progress from their respective ties.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to his old stomping ground as the mega-rich PSG are pitted against Barcelona with the first leg at the Nou Camp. David Beckham is sure to receive a ‘warm’ welcome from the home supporters if he features given his Madrid past.
Speaking of Real, their prize for getting past Man Utd is to take on Turkish surprise package Galatasaray, with Wesley Sneijder in particular looking forward to taking on his former employers. The Turkish side will hope to keep the tie alive in Madrid before bringing Ronaldo and co. back to Turkey for what will be a highly charged atmosphere at the Turk Telekom Arena.
Bayern Munich and Juventus lock horns with both clubs impressing so far, aside from Munich’s 2-0 reversal to Arsenal during the week. The final quarter-final sees another unexpected club at this stage of the competition Malaga, take on many people’s dark horses Borussia Dortmund
The first-leg ties will take place on April 2/3, with the return legs taking place the following week on April 9/10.
The semi-finals will take place in the final two weeks of April ahead of the Wembley final on May 25th.
Quarter-final draw:
PSG v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Galatasaray
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Malaga v Borussia Dortmund
We’ll whisper it quietly, but the Europa League draw was nearly of more interest given the involvement of three Premier League sides, while the remaining fixture is one that has ‘heightened security’ written all over it.
Fenerbahce will take on Lazio in a fixture that we expect to be equally hostile in both legs. The English sides have been kept apart with Chelsea taking on the Russian champions of 2008 and 2009 Rubin Kazan.
Elsewhere, Gareth Bale Spurs will take on Swiss outfit Basle with Newcastle United travelling to Portugal to take on Benfica in their first leg.
First legs to be played 4 April and second legs to be played 11 April.
Quarter-final draw:
Chelsea v Rubin Kazan
Tottenham v Basle
Benfica v Newcastle
Fenerbahce v Lazio
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