Champions League quarter-final pairings: Real Madrid to face Chelsea
Los Blancos were drawn against Graham Potter's Blues who are on the rise
The Champions League quarter-final draw at the House of European Football (Nyon, Switzerland) today, Friday, has left a number of pairings with a certain intrigue to them.
The eight teams that have qualified for this round of Europe's top competition are already looking ahead to the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on 10 June.
Serie A is the best positioned to secure a ticket, with up to three teams in the hunt for a place: Napoli, Inter and AC Milan. At least one of them is guaranteed a place in the semi-finals, as there will be a Milan-Naples clash.
Both Bayern Munich and Manchester City are two of the big favourites to lift the trophy in this edition of the Champions League, although only one will be left alive, as they will face each other.
However, in the equation, Real Madrid must always be factored in, the already feared 'kings of Europe', who eliminated Liverpool in the last 16 with an emphatic 6-2 aggregate win. Chelsea and Benfica also have a place in the quarter-finals, two teams who, given their respective squads, could well cause a shock; the former against the Spanish side, and Benfica against the Neroazzurri.
Despite coming first in the draw, Inter will play the second leg at home because, according to UEFA, they have reversed the order of the match between Inter Milan and Benfica, "in accordance with the principles established by the Club Competitions Committee" to stop the two Milan home teams having home games in the same week.
These are the pairings for the quarter-finals:
Real Madrid - Chelsea
Benfica - Inter Milan
Manchester City - Bayern Munich
Milan - Napoli
The 'bogeymen', Bayern and City, will meet in this round. In their future plans, to lift the title in Istanbul, although in the semi-finals they will face Chelsea or Real Madrid, who have a record 14 titles in their Santiago Bernabeu trophy cabinet.
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