The Champions League quarterfinals and semifinals are set
The draw for the Champions League quarterfinals, and semifinals, are now set with a couple of ties being the standouts.
The quarter-finals are set! ✔️
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 18, 2022
What's your reaction to the draw?#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/Je3NQHabuy
The ones with a clear favorite are Villarreal versus Bayern Munich and Benfica versus Liverpool. The Yellow Submarine did well to get past Juventus but the German giants are one of the favorites to reach the final.
Some may be surprised with how far Benfica have gotten but their Cinderella story may come to an end at the hands of Liverpool.
The two highlights for the quarterfinals are Manchester City taking on Atletico Madrid and Chelsea taking on Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s men already dispatched the red side of Manchester and will look to do the same with the blue side. Alongside Bayern Munich, Manchester City is another team tipped as favorites to reach the final. It is going to be a clash of style between Simeone and Pep Guardiola. After coming close last season, City are more determined than ever to get over the Champions League hump.
Should Chelsea look to be crowned back-to-back champions, they are going to have to get past Real Madrid. Thanks to a Karim Benzema hat-trick, the LaLiga leaders knocked out PSG despite the French side being the better team for the majority of that tie.
These two sides met one another in last year’s edition with the Blues coming out on top. The question mark heading in is going to be what shape Chelsea are in given the situation with Roman Abramovich.
Out of all the match-ups this is the one where there is no clear favorite. On paper, Chelsea look the better team but Real Madrid are a different beast when it comes to the Champions League.
The first leg of the quarterfinals will take place on April 5 and 6 with the return leg on April 12 and 13, respectively.