The confrontation between Manchester City and Bayern Munich will be the most prominent in the quarter-finals of the European Champions League, according to the draw that was drawn on Friday in the Swiss city of Nyon.
It will be the first time that the two teams face each other in the knockout stages of the main continental competition, which Bayern won 6 times, the last of which was in 2020, while City is looking for its first coronation in it.
But they faced three times in the group stage, where they exchanged wins in the 2010-2011 seasons (2-0 for Bayern and 2-0 for City), 2013-2014 (3-1 for Bayern and 3-2 for City) and 2014-2015 (1-0 for Bayern and 3-2 for City). .
Bayern’s sports director, former Bosnian midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic, commented on the City match, which crushed the other German team, Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of the final, with five goals for the Norwegian Erling Haaland, saying, “I love when we play once morest the big teams because the focus of our players is great. It is another mini-final.” , in reference to getting rid of the strong candidate for the Paris Saint-Germain title in the final price.
He continued, “After Paris, we face another team with a lot of capabilities. It is the strongest team for me. It was amazing once morest Leipzig. We will enjoy this confrontation.”
“Most Exciting” in the Quarter-Finals
This confrontation will pit the Spanish coach of City, Pep Guardiola, once morest the team he supervised from 2013 to 2016, with whom he won the German League title three times, the local cup twice, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup once.
Salihamidzic touched on this by saying, “We will meet Pep Guardiola in Munich. It is a wonderful confrontation, the most exciting in this quarter-final.”
In contrast to the final price round, the draw was open, allowing confrontations between clubs from the same country and between clubs that were together in the group stage, which put Milan, the Italian champion of the competition seven times, once morest his compatriot Napoli, who imposed himself as one of the best teams in the old continent this season by leading the local league. 18 points behind Inter and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in its history.
And following getting rid of Liverpool in the final price by beating it in the first leg 5-2 away from home and 1-0 back, the Spanish champions, Real Madrid, collide with another English team, Chelsea, in a repeat of the semi-finals of the 2020-2021 season, when the London team emerged victorious (1-1 and 2- Zero) and the quarter-finals of last season, when the Royal Club won the first leg away from home 3-1 and qualified for the semi-finals, despite losing the second leg at home 2-3 following extension.
The return match was epic, as following winning the first leg with a hat-trick from Frenchman Karim Benzema, Real found himself trailing in the second leg with three clean goals, which meant his exit from the competition.
But he narrowed the difference 3-1 10 minutes before the end thanks to the Brazilian Rodrigo, who dragged the two teams into the extension, paving the way for Benzema to impose himself as a champion once more by scoring the second goal, which was enough for Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to reach the final at the expense of his former team.
Milan derby in the semi-finals?
Inter, the last Italian team to win the title in 2010, led by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, will be facing Benfica, Portugal, in a repeat of the 1965 final, when Nerazzurri won its second title in a row with a 1-0 victory.
The vice president of Inter, his former Argentine star Javier Zanetti, commented on the draw, saying, “The most important thing is that it is always nice to be here” in the quarter-finals, which the Italian team reached for the first time since 2012, similar to its arch-neighbor Milan.
“Benfica has proven that it is at the level of the competition and it will be two difficult matches for sure,” he added.
And in the event that Inter and Milan pass the quarter-finals, they will collide with each other in the semi-finals, for which the draw was also drawn.
It will not be the first time that the two neighbors meet at the level of the Champions League, as they faced each other in the semi-finals of the 2002-2003 season, when Milan qualified for the final with a 1-1 draw in a match that was counted on Inter’s land (they play on the same stadium) and back 0-0 on his way. To beat his other compatriot Juventus in the final, and the quarter-finals of the 2004-2005 season when Milan won back and forth 3-0 and 2-0 on his way to the final, which he lost to Liverpool on penalties following they tied 3-3 in a meeting that the Italian team finished its first half ahead 3- Zero in Istanbul.
The quarter-final first-leg matches will be held on April 11 and 12, and the second leg on April 18 and 19, with the semi-final, which will bring together the winner from Real-Chelsea with the winner from City-Bayern, on May 9 and 10 in the first leg and 16 and 17 of it back.
The final will be held on June 10 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.