PARIS: Holders Real Madrid will play Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Champions League while Manchester City were paired with Pep Guardiola’s former side Bayern Munich in Friday’s draw.
Serie A leaders Napoli take on AC Milan in an all-Italian showdown and Inter Milan face Portuguese league leaders Benfica.
The winners of Real’s tie against Chelsea will go on to face either City or Bayern in the semi-finals, throwing open the possibility of an all-English last-four tie.
That also increases the chances of seeing an Italian team reach the final for the first time since Juventus in 2017, as Inter will play either Milan or Napoli in the last four should the Nerazzurri beat Benfica.
The quarter-final first legs will be played on April 11 and 12, with Real entertaining Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu first before travelling to London for the return a week later, and City at home to Bayern first.
Inter were drawn to play Benfica at home initially but will now travel to Lisbon for the first leg to avoid a clash with AC Milan’s meeting with Napoli at San Siro.
The semi-finals will be played in May with the final in Istanbul scheduled for Saturday, June 10.
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