The Champions League (UCL) 2021-22 quarter-final draw took place on Friday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. With the competition down to eight teams, the fight to make the final at Paris' Stade de France on May 28 is heating up.
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After a dramatic Last-16 that witnessed shock exits of clubs like Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Manchester United and Juventus, the teams that finally made it to the last-8 draw were: Defending Champions Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, and Villareal.
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Here's a look at the results of the Champions League 2021-22, quarter-final draw:
QF1: Chelsea vs Real Madrid
QF2: Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid
QF3: Villarreal vs Bayern Munich
QF4: Benfica vs Liverpool
SF1: Manchester City or Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea or Real Madrid
SF2: Benfica or Liverpool vs Villarreal or Bayern Munich
In the final, the winners of semi-final two will be the ‘home’ team.
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The first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will take place on April 5 and 6, with the return fixtures a week later on April 12 and 13. There will be two matches on each night, taking place simultaneously. The first leg of the semi-finals will take place on April 26 and 27, with the second leg on May 3 and 4. Final will take place on May 28.
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Defending champions Chelsea, who have been in the limelight for the sanctions imposed on its Russian owner Roman Abramovich amidst the Ukraine war, might have to play the home leg of their quarterfinal tie behind closed doors, much to the disappointment of manager Thomas Tuchel. "Thanks for ruining my evening," said the German when informed about the possibility after the Blues secured a 4-1 aggregate win against Lille.
England champions Manchester City are also a side that football experts fancy to win the tournament for the first time in their history this year after losing in the final to Thomas Tuchel's men last year. Pep Guardiola's side cruised into the quarters with a 5-0 aggregate win, despite being held at home against Sporting Lisbon.
Liverpool stuttered into the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate win over Inter Milan after suffering a 1-0 loss to the Italian side, who were reduced to 10 men, at Anfield on March 9.
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13-time champions Real Madrid are coming on the back of a memorable comeback against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain and will feel they can once again lift the trophy. Karim Benzema scored a superb second-half hat-trick in the 2nd leg of the last-16 draw as Real Madrid produced a stirring fightback at a raucous Bernabeu to reach the Champions League quarterfinals at the expense of PSG.
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick inside the opening 23 minutes as Bayern Munich thrashed Red Bull Salzburg to reach the Champions League quarterfinals. Bayern cruised Salzburg in the second leg of their last-16 clash following a 1-1 draw between the two sides in last month's opener.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid secured their place in the last eight of the Champions League after knocking out Manchester United, and Diego Simeone will no doubt be hoping he can conjure up the spirit of 2014 and 2016, which is when they went as far as the final.
Europa League holders Villareal stunned Italian giants Juventus 4-1 on aggregate to make it to the quarterfinal. Juventus suffered a humiliating defeat after three late goals earned Villarreal a sensational 3-0 second-leg win to condemn the Serie A side to a 4-1 aggregate loss and a Champions League last-16 exit for the third successive season.
Darwin Nunez's late header took Benfica through to the UCL quarterfinals with a 3-2 aggregate win after a battling defensive display in Amsterdam against Ajax.
