The road to Istanbul is already taking shape with just over two months to go until the Champions League final.
The competition so far has portrayed a changing of the guard. The Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate is very slowly, but inevitably, beginning to morph into a battle between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Both forwards have shone so far on Europe’s biggest stage, with Mbappe’s hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain dismantled a hapless Barcelona in Camp Nou among the highlights of the last 16.
Despite being just 22, the Champions League is one of the few prizes which has so far eluded the Frenchman.
Yet in spite of PSG’s run to the final in 2020, they will be curious to know their potential opponents in the last eight before looking too far ahead to this year’s showpiece in Turkey.
From the Premier League, Liverpool and Manchester City both have a foot in the last eight having each won 2-0 in their respective first legs against RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Europe might provide them both with some welcome respite after recent home defeats to Fulham and Manchester United respectively.
Chelsea, meanwhile, escaped the Wanda Metropolitano with a vital away goal against Atletico Madrid in the first leg thanks to Olivier Giroud‘s spectacular bicycle kick.
Holders Bayern Munich are among the favourites, but they also have one eye on their Bundesliga title race as they sit just two points clear of RB Leipzig after beating Dortmund 4-2.
The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on Friday 19 March, 11am GMT and can be viewed in the UK live on BT Sport or on Uefa’s website. It will be an open draw, which means teams from the same federations can play one another. Despite games being held behind closed doors, Uefa will stick to the rule whereby teams from the same city cannot play at home on the same day or on consecutive days.
Once the draw has taken place, another draw will be held for the semi-finals. A third draw will then decide who will be considered the “home” team in May’s final.
How to watch the draw live
- Date: Friday 19 March
- Time: 11am
- TV channel: The draw will be broadcast live on BT Sport in the UK
- Live stream: Proceedings can also be streamed live on Uefa’s website
More on football
- ‘I want Burnley to be the UK’s favourite underdog’
- Young-Myles: The case for Spurs retaining Mourinho is diminishing by the week
- The making of Everton’s versatile defender whose rise surprised even his own manager
- Hall: Martial is running out of chances to prove he is part of the future at Man Utd
- The Czech ‘warriors’ who rose from obscurity to fire West Ham into European contention
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3l3OgeX
Post a Comment