After the grueling group stage and the tricky two legged knockout ties of the round of 16, the UEFA Champions League has finally arrived at its business end. The quarterfinals are the next stage of this competition and only top quality sides remain in contention.
Eight teams successfully qualified for the quarter finals. These were:
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Sevilla, Roma, Liverpool
The qualified teams comprise of regular powerhouses of European football and dark horses capable of pulling a result out of the bag any given day. Hence, the quarter final draw, held on 16th of March, was bound to be interesting. And it was. The draw served up some absolutely mouthwatering ties. The full draw was as follows:
Barcelona vs. Roma
Sevilla vs. Bayern Munich
Juventus vs. Real Madrid
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
The pick of the draw is undoubtedly the all-English affair between Liverpool and Manchester City. Manchester City are, perhaps, the most dominant side in Europe at this time while Liverpool play one of the most attractive brands of attacking football in the world. Liverpool are also the only side to have beaten Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut this season. This tie is set up to be an instant classic.
Real versus Juventus is the other heavyweight clash on the quarterfinal card. Los Blancos are aiming to win their third Champions League title in a row, but the Italian side will be out for revenge after ZinedineZidane’s side batteredthem 4-1 in the 2017 final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona will both have to overcome tricky challenges from dangerous underdogs in Sevilla and Roma respectively. However, even though the underdogs can cause an upset, both the former European champions will be quietly confident of advancing into the semifinal stage this season.
The first legs will be played on April 3 and April 4, and the second legs will be played on April 10 and 11.
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