Chelsea to play Real Madrid in Champions League quarter-final
Manchester City will also travel to Spain, having been drawn against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Reigning European champions Chelsea will play Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Chelsea will have home advantage in the first leg of the tie, which will see Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and head coach Carlo Ancelotti return to Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City will also travel to Spain, having been drawn against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Atletico booked their quarter-final spot by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday, while City — last season’s beaten finalists — strolled past Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on aggregate.
The winners of that tie will take on either Chelsea or Real for a place in the final, which has been relocated from Saint Petersburg to Paris.
On the other side of the draw, Liverpool will play Benfica, who knocked out Erik ten Hag’s Ajax earlier this week. Liverpool, meanwhile, lost to Inter Milan at Anfield but progressed with a 2-1 win on aggregate.
The winners of that tie will take on either Bayern Munich, who thumped Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg 8-2 on aggregate or Unai Emery’s Villarreal, who upset Juventus in the previous round.
The first legs of the quarter-finals will be played on April 5-6 with the return legs scheduled for April 12-13.
The semi-finals will take place on April 26-27 followed by the second legs on May 3-4. The final will take place on Saturday, May 28.
The draw took place at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon.
What is the full draw?
Quarter-finals:
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid
Villarreal vs Bayern Munich
Benfica vs Liverpool
Semi-finals:
Manchester City/Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea/Real Madrid
Benfica/Liverpool vs Villarreal/Bayern Munich
