UCL: Chelsea Meet United, Barca Face Shakhtar In QFs
Chelsea play United, while Barca avoid Real clash
For both Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola the fated thing will happen. Chelsea will meet old rivals Manchester United in the Champions League quarter finals, while the Catalans have just avoided a Real Madrid clash to play the European champions Shakhtar Donetsk in the last eight round of whom Guardiola said he would fear the most.
Apart from the two clashes which seem to be the toughest ones, Jose Mourinho’s dream came true as Real Madrid won’t face either Inter or Chelsea, but Tottenham Hotspur. Finally, the defending champions Internazionale Milano meet one of the biggest surprises of the superior phases, FC Schalke 04.
Chelsea chief Executive Ron Gouraly declared there’ll be no favorite in the next round. Although the Blues know the Devils very well, the non-domestic game will be a pretty tough one. “The draw has thrown up an exciting fixture against Manchester United – a team we know well and that we have a good recent record against. We will approach this game the same as we will the meeting we have left against them in the Premier League.”
Chelsea have defeated Untied in three of the four league games, last occasion on March 1 when Carlo Ancelotti side passed United 2-1 on Stamford Bridge, the place where the first leg of the last eight will take place. Chelsea meet Ferguson’s side and league leaders on April 6.
Chelsea finished the group stage top spot with 15 points and beat FC Copenhagen in the last 16 round. On the other side, Manchester United have also won the group C with 14 points and passed Olympique Marseille 2-1 in the first superior phase.
FC Barcelona finished the group stage with 14 points and outclassed Arsenal 4-3 in the last 16. Their next opponents Shakhtar Donetsk are among the four teams who finish the group stage with 15+ points. Mircea Lucescu’s side beat Arsenal 2-1 in the second leg of the group stage and defeated AS Roma in the last 16 thanks to a 6-2 aggregate result.
Real Madrid, who finished the group-stage with 16 points, will have some hard times against Spurs who managed to upset AC Milan 1-0 on San Siro and held them on White Hart Lane. Although Harry Redknapp’s side are at their first appearance into the Champions League quarters have already proved they are able to face and beat some of the best European sides.
Tottenham won the group A with 11 points. They beat the defending champions Inter 3-1 in London and they will surely chase another big success against Real Madrid. On the other side, Jose Mourinho will chase his third trophy with his third different team having already won two with FC Porto and Inter.
Leonardo’s side, who finished the first group second, but who have just managed to overturn a 0-1 home loss against Bayern Munich a couple of days ago, will try to get their second trophy in a row against another German side, FC Schalke 04. The Veltins side will not have the same Felix Magath on their bench. The club decided to split with the German coach earlier this week and name Ralf Rangnick as new coach.
The first leg will take place on April 5 and 6, while the second ones on April 12 and 13.
Champions League semi-final draw
Inter Milan / FC Schalke 04 – Chelsea / Manchester United
Real Madrid / Tottenham Hotspur – FC Barcelona / FC Shakhtar Donetsk
The first legs take place on April 26 and 27, while the second round is scheduled on May 3 and 4.
The final will take place at Wembley stadium, London, on May 28.
