Defending champion Bayern Munich will face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Football Champions League in a remake of last season’s final. In the second hit of the round, record winner Real Madrid meets English champions Liverpool. That was the result of the draw on Friday at the Uefa headquarters in Nyon. The first legs are scheduled for April 6th and 7th, the second legs will follow a week later.
If Munich, who are in the quarter-finals for the 19th time, master the difficult hurdle PSG in David Alaba’s farewell season, the climber from the duel between England’s superior league leaders Manchester City and former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola and Borussia would in the semifinals Dortmund wait. The fourth quarter-finals are contested by outsiders FC Porto and Chelsea, with the winner facing Real or Liverpool in the semifinals at the end of April and beginning of May, respectively.
At the final tournament in Lisbon in August, Bayern won 1-0 thanks to a header from Kingsley Coman in front of empty ranks. Alaba comforted the visibly disappointed PSG superstar Neymar with a warm hug after the final whistle. The Brazilian is still chasing after the most important trophy in club football with the ensemble from Paris, which has been upgraded with huge sums of money by the owners from Qatar.
The same goes for Guardiola with ManCity. During his last stint at Bayern, the Catalan was denied triumph in Europe. With the Citizens he is heading for his third English championship title after 2018 and 2019. The big goal of the donors from Abu Dhabi remains the Champions League. The next hurdle is Dortmund’s young star Erling Haaland. The ex-Salzburg citizen leads the Champions League shooting list with ten goals in just six season appearances. In the semifinals, a duel between the sheikh clubs or a German clash are possible. “The tickets are very attractive, we are challenged at the highest level and we are looking forward to the games,” said Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic.