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Draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League was unfavorable for the Spanish
This Friday the draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland and the crosses of the qualified teams were defined : Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Benfica.
It was already known that the first leg of the quarterfinals will take place on April 5 and 6, while the second leg will be on the 12 and 13 of the same month.
Perhaps the best standing in the crosses was Liverpool who will face Benfica, while the Spanish will face tough matches heading to the final to be held at the Stade de France in Paris and not at the Krestovsky stadium in Saint Petersburg as planned. but it will not be done that way because of the sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea vs. real Madrid
Without a doubt, the most morbid meeting and one of the most anticipated of the quarterfinal round. The first leg will take place at Stamford Bridge, while the second leg will be at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Chelsea is the current champion of the UEFA Champions League and this time the crossover of the last edition is repeated, although at that time they met in the semifinals where they tied in the first leg with a score of 1-1 on April 27 and the 'Blues' won the second leg in London 2-0 on May 5 last year.
Currently, Tuchel's men come from winning the Club World Cup and losing the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on penalties. In addition, they are third in the Premier League with 59 points, however, they are facing sanctions against their president Roman Abramovich for his relationship with Putin, including playing behind closed doors in the first leg.
For its part, Real Madrid is going through a great moment by beating Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg of the round of 16 with a score of 3-1 and thus sealing its pass to the quarterfinals. In addition, they are leaders in LaLiga and this Sunday they will face Barcelona in the Spanish football classic.
The 'merengues' have a scoring duo with more than 70 goals in all competitions this season and is made up of Benzema and Vinicius, in addition to the youth and talent that Valverde and Camavinga provide in midfield, proven in the return with PSG.
This, without a doubt, will be a great rematch of this new edition of the Champions League where the winner will be a strong candidate to win the 'orejona' this year.
Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid
Those led by Guardiola are the current leaders of the Premier, although they are only one point ahead of Liverpool, which is second. The 'citizen' are a true scoring machine, although they do not have a natural nine, the midfielders De Bruyne, Mahrez, Foden, Grealish, Sterling are responsible for scoring countless goals.
City is the current runner-up in Europe, having lost the final against Chelsea in the last edition and Guardiola's men still have the pending 'issue' of winning the Champions League, will this be the year of Pep and the citizens?
For its part, Atlético de Madrid with Simeone has always been a brave team that has reached the final twice and has lost them to its rival, Real Madrid. He also has that pending matter, in addition, that he is a specialist in growing up against this type of rival.
The 'mattresses' are fourth in the LaLiga standings with 51 points, the same as Barcelona, which is third. Without a doubt, the spectacle of these two great teams and the strategies of their well-known coaches will make this a great game, one of the best in the quarter round.
Villareal vs. Bayern Munich
Villarreal perhaps came out with the most disadvantage of the three qualified Spanish teams. The 'yellow submarine' gave the surprise in the second leg of the round of 16 by defeating Juventus 0-3, the Spanish are seventh with 45 points, fighting to reach the European zone. Those led by Unai Emery will play the second leg in Germany.
In the same way, the Bavarian team is leader of the Bundesliga with 60 points, four ahead of Dortmund who is second. They haven't had a regular season, but when they put their minds to it they can thrash their rivals, as in the case of Salzburg in the round of 16.
Those of Nagelsmann with their offensive game where Lewandowski is the fundamental weapon, are strong candidates to go to the semifinals with their sights on the final in Paris, but they should not trust the Spaniards who have history in this competition and can give again the surprise at home.
Benfica vs. Liverpool
The Portuguese come from surprising in the round of 16 by beating Ajax. The lack of effectiveness of the Dutch gave the opportunity for the only goal of the second leg. Benfica is third in the Portuguese League.
There was little chance of the Portuguese qualifying for the round of 16 and more so being part of the group that included Bayern and Barcelona, but Benfica won 3-0 against Barça and contributed to the elimination of the Catalans. Darwin, Rafa Silva and Nicolás Otamendi comprise the central axis of Benfica's winning strategy.
For its part, Liverpool is in second place in the Premier with 69 points, just one behind Manchester City, which is first. It is a complicated rival and a firm candidate to lift the cup. Of all the crossings this seems the most accessible, tipping the scales for the English.
Kloop is a coach who imprints that winning mentality and that offensive strategy that has given so many results. The recent addition of Colombian Luis Díaz, who joins strikers Salah, Mané and Firminho, increases the chances to continue obtaining victories.
It should be noted that the winner of the match between Manchester City vs. Atlético de Madrid will face the winner of Chelsea vs. Real Madrid. For its part, whoever wins the match between Villarreal vs. Bayern Munich will face the winner of Benfica vs. Liverpool in the semi-finals.
The first leg of the semifinals will be played on April 26 and 27; the return, on May 3 and 4. The grand finale will take place on May 28.
