After an exciting start to the Champions League last-16, attention is swiftly turning to which clubs will reach the latter stages of this season’s competition.
Liverpool and Manchester City have relieved the pressure on their home ties somewhat by winning first legs against Inter and Sporting Lisbon respectively, away from home. Chelsea are in action against reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille, while Manchester United face Atletico Madrid for a place in the last eight.
Elsewhere on the continent, Kylian Mbappe was PSG’s match-winner in Paris against Real Madrid, whom the World Cup winning forward has been strongly tipped to join in the summer.
The quarter-final and semi-final draws will both take place on Friday 18 March in Nyon, Switzerland.
More from Sport
'We will try everything'; Klopp provides injury update on Jota ahead of Carabao Cup final21 February, 2022
Lille face Chelsea in the Champions League trying to cling onto a dying dream21 February, 2022
Steven Gerrard’s concerns at Aston Villa are growing - but at least one area doesn't addressing21 February, 2022How to watch the draw
Date: Friday 18 March
Time: 11am [BST]
TV Channel: BT Sport 1
Live stream: BT Sports app and YouTube channel and Uefa’s website and social media channels
How the draw works
There will be three draws conducted to determine: four quarter-final ties, two semi-finals and to pick the ‘home’ team for the final, due to administrative reasons.
Unlike in the group stage or last-16, there are no seeds and teams from the same country can play against each other, raising the possibility of an all-Premier League tie.
There have been some memorable recent meetings between Premier League clubs at the quarter-final stage.
Liverpool thrashed Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate in the 2017-18 season, before Tottenham squeezed past Pep Guardiola’s side on away goals the following year after a dramatic second leg at the Etihad.
As is the case in all knockout rounds in Uefa competition, away goals are no longer a deciding factor after being scrapped at the start of the campaign.
More on Champions League
Lille face Chelsea in the Champions League trying to cling onto a dying dream21 February, 2022
Man City's slip-up against Spurs has given Liverpool renewed hope of mounting a title challenge21 February, 2022
Jota's injury 'not looking good' for Klopp as Liverpool await results of ankle scan17 February, 2022Key dates
Here are the key dates in the Champions League diary:
- 5-6 April: Quarter-final first leg
- 12-13 April: Quarter-final second leg
- 26-27 April: Semi-final first leg
- 3-4 May: Semi-final second leg
- 28 May: Final (Gazprom Arena, Saint Petersburg)
Uefa will aim to avoid a repeat of the farcical last-16 draw that had to be redone due to an error that occurred when United were drawn against their group stage opponents Villarreal.
The United ball was then mistakenly left out of the pot, which meant they could not be drawn against Atletico Madrid, who were paired with Bayern Munich. United, meanwhile, were pitted against PSG – a match-up that would have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi go head-to-head.
Ralf Rangnick’s side were eventually drawn against Atletico Madrid at the third attempt.
Uefa issued a statement that said: “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the Uefa Champions League round of 16.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/dlU1Fmz
Post a Comment