Champions League quarter-finals match-ups announced

Arsenal have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Manchester City will play 14-time winners Real Madrid.

The Gunners will host German side Bayern, who have England captain Harry Kane in their squad, at Emirates Stadium in the first leg.

Meanwhile, this is the third successive season City, who won last year’s title, have met Real in the knockout stages.

The first legs take place April 9-10, with the second legs on April 16-17.

Both City and Arsenal play their first-leg fixtures on April 9, with the Gunners at home to Bayern and Pep Guardiola’s side at the Bernabeu.

The return legs take place on April 17, with the two Premier League sides facing each other in the semi-finals if they win their respective ties.

In the other ties, five-time winners Barcelona will play French champions Paris St-Germain, while Atletico Madrid, who are fourth in La Liga, host German opposition Borussia Dortmund.

The semi-finals will be held on April 30 and May 1, with the second legs a week later on May 7-8.

Wembley Stadium will host this year’s final on Saturday, June 1.

Quarter-finals draw

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund

Paris St-Germain v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Manchester City

Semi-finals draw

Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund v Paris St-Germain or Barcelona

Arsenal or Bayern Munich v Real Madrid or Manchester City

Arsenal reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 by beating Porto in a tense penalty shootout at the Emirates on Tuesday.

Kane moved to the Bundesliga champions from Tottenham last summer and the 30-year-old striker has scored 30 times in 25 league appearances this season.

The Gunners lost their last tie with Bayern 10-2 on aggregate, losing both legs of their last-16 meeting in the 2016-17 competition 5-1. They were also beaten 5-1 in the group stage of the previous season’s competition, having won the home tie 2-0.

Bayern will not be permitted to have their fans at the Emirates after fireworks were set off and thrown onto the pitch during their last-16 match against Lazio earlier this month.

City cruised to a seventh successive last eight appearance with a comfortable 6-2 aggregate win over Danish title holders Copenhagen in the round of 16.

Pep Guardiola’s Treble winners dominated Real in the semi-finals last year, beating Carlo Ancelotti’s side 5-1 on aggregate. They were beaten 6-5 over two legs by Real in the previous season’s semi-final. (BBC)

The post Champions League quarter-finals match-ups announced appeared first on nationnews.com.

Leave a Reply