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Champions League draw in full as Chelsea and Man City handed nightmare runs to final
The Champions League draw in full as Chelsea and Manchester City were among the teams to discover their potential paths to the final.
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Chelsea and Manchester City were handed nightmare draws in the Champions League on Friday, as the Premier League sides were drawn Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively and face a potentially difficult semi-final route too. The draw was held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland as the final eight teams in the competition discovered their next opponents.
Those four aforementioned teams have joined Napoli, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Inter Milan in the final eight. UEFA held the draw at the House of European Football, which was followed by the draw for the two semi-final ties.
However, the Premier League sides will have been disappointed that they were handed possibly the most difficult routes to the final, as Chelsea take on holders Real Madrid and Manchester City have been drawn against Bayern Munich.
If the two English teams do overcome both the Spanish and German champions, they will then face each other in the semi-final and then the victor would face one of Napoli, Inter Milan, AC Milan or Benfica.
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KEY EVENTS
- Draw in full11:29
- Difficult Chelsea/City draw11:23
- Second semi-final11:20
- First semi-final11:19
- Man City fate11:16
- CHELSEA DRAWN11:15
- Teams in the draw10:40
- When does the draw start?10:35
Goodbye
That's all from us at Express Sport as Chelsea and Manchester City will not have been too enthused with their Champions League fate.
Do tune into the Europa League draw live to find out who Manchester United and co will face next in Europe.
Europa League draw live
Next up is the Europa League, where the likes of Manchester United and Jose Mourinho's Roma will discover their fate.
You can follow the draw with Express Sports live HERE.
Draw in full
Quarter-finals:
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Inter Milan vs Benfica
Manchester City vs Bayern Munich
AC Milan vs Napoli
Semi-finals:
AC Milan/Napoli vs Inter Milan/Benfica
Real Madrid/Chelsea vs Manchester City/Bayern Munich
Other side of the draw
One of Napoli, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Benfica will be contesting the final in Istanbul at the end of the season.
AC Milan take on Napoli in an all-Italian clash, while Inter Milan will host Benfica in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Difficult Chelsea/City draw
English sides Chelsea and Manchester City will feel that they could not have had a worse Champions League draw.
The Blues face holders Real Madrid, while Pep Guardiola faces a reunion at Bayern Munich.
And if both sides do reach the semi-finals, they will face each other.
Semi-finals up next
Not only do we have the quarter-final draw today, UEFA will next decide the path to the final with the semi-finals next up.
Rules
As the draw is set to get underway, a reminder of the rules. From the quarter-final stage it is an open draw, meaning clubs from the same country can play each other.
Who is presenting the draw?
Former Turkey, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star Hamit Altintop has been introduced to the stage as he thanks UEFA and Europe for their support and solidarity after the tragic earthquake in Turkey.
He has been joined by Netherlands and Barcelona icon Patrick Kluivert. They will be conducting the draw alongside Pinto and Giorgio Marchetti.
Start of the show
Host Pedro Pinto is here! You may want to take a seat, UEFA typically like to chat before making the draw...
When will the ties be played?
The Champions League quarter-final first legs will take place on April 11 and April 12, with the second legs the following week.
The semi-finals will be on May 9/10 and 16/17 before the final, later than in previous seasons, on Saturday, June 10.
Teams in the draw
There are just eight teams in today’s draw, including two English sides in Chelsea and Manchester City following their victories over Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig respectively.
They are joined by holders Real Madrid along with Bayern Munich, Napoli, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Benfica.
When does the draw start?
The draw is set to get underway at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland in approximately 25 minutes time at 11.00am, so stay tuned and keep updated with all the latest updates.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of this season’s Champions League quarter-final draw.
Eight of Europe’s top clubs will be waiting nervously as their fate is set to be decided for the next round of ties, with only three more teams to overcome to lift the trophy in May.