Champions League Quarter-finals: Real Madrid to face Bayern Munich, Barcelona to clash with Juventus.
Defending champions Real Madrid will reunite with former coach Carlo Ancelotti, while Barcelona will face Juventus. Leicester's opponent will be Atletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund will meet AS Monaco.
Overall, the draw for this year's Champions League quarter-finals has resulted in relatively evenly matched pairings. While Leicester avoided formidable opponents and have hopes of continuing their fairytale run in their first season in the most prestigious club competition on the planet, Dortmund and Monaco are also two teams with relatively similar squad strengths.
The first leg matches took place on April 11th and 12th, and the second leg on April 18th and 19th.
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| Ancelotti and Zidane once led Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League title. |
The highlight of the quarter-finals will undoubtedly be the reunion between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, between the reigning champions and the former champions, between Carlo Ancelotti and his former colleague Zinedine Zidane. Ancelotti managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015, leading the Spanish team to La Decima, their 10th Champions League title in the 2013-2014 season. Zidane was his assistant coach at the time. Real Madrid sacked Ancelotti in May 2015. This decision drew much criticism from experts, players, coaches, and the media.
On their way to winning the 2014 Champions League, Real Madrid inflicted a crushing 4-0 defeat on Bayern Munich in the second leg of the semi-final, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace. That was the last time the two teams met in an official match. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have met 10 times in the Champions League knockout rounds, with each team winning five times.
Meanwhile, Barcelona and Juventus will relive the 2014-2015 Champions League final, when the Catalan team defeated their Italian opponents to win their fifth title. These two historically significant clubs have met seven times in the European Cup/Champions League. Barcelona won three, Juventus won two, and the remaining two matches ended in a draw. This match also sees defender Dani Alves facing his former club, Barcelona.
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| Neymar scored the goal that sealed a 3-1 victory for Barca in the 2014/2015 Champions League final against Juventus. |
Leicester and Atletico have met twice before. The first time was in the first round of the 1961-1962 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the predecessor of the Europa League. Atletico drew 1-1 away and won 2-0 at home. The second time was in the first round of the 1997-1998 UEFA Cup (also the predecessor of the Europa League), with Atletico winning both legs 2-1.
Dortmund and Monaco have never faced each other before. Monaco were runners-up in the 2003-2004 Champions League, while Dortmund won in 1996-1997 and were runners-up in the 2012-2013 season. Dortmund have had a good run in recent Champions League seasons, and for Monaco, reaching the quarter-finals this year would already be a success.
However, the Ligue 1 representatives are proving to be a formidable dark horse after coming from behind to eliminate Man City in the round of 16. At this time, Monaco are flying high with a high-performing attack and they are ahead of PSG to lead Ligue 1.
According to VNE
