Chelsea set for Ancelotti reunion as Blues draw Madrid, Pep v Simeone as Man City get Atletico

By Sports Desk March 18, 2022

Real Madrid will face holders Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, while Manchester City tackle Atletico Madrid.

The clash of 13-time winners Madrid and two-time champions Chelsea will be a repeat of last season's semi-final, which the English side won 3-1 on aggregate, and will mean Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti goes up against his former team.

Madrid's Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois could also face their old club, who are in a state of crisis after owner Roman Abramovich was hit with UK government sanctions.

The winners of that standout tie will progress to a semi-final against City or Atletico, who meet in a tantalising clash that will see coaches Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone at the heart of the narrative.

Atletico beat Manchester United at the last-16 stage and will return to the north-west of England in pursuit of another major scalp.

Villarreal, who sprung a surprise by knocking out Juventus, have been rewarded with a clash against Bayern Munich, who were 8-2 aggregate winners over Salzburg.

Benfica will face Jurgen Klopp's in-form Liverpool. The Reds are six-time European champions but lost to the Portuguese giants at the last-16 stage in the 2005-06 season, their last meeting in the Champions League.

The two-leg quarter-final ties will be played April 5-6 and April 12-13, with the semi-finals scheduled for April 26-27 and May 3-4.

The Stade de France will stage the final on May 28, after St Petersburg was stripped of the match due to Russian military action in Ukraine.

Quarter-final draw

Chelsea v Real Madrid

Manchester City v Atletico Madrid

Villarreal v Bayern Munich

Benfica v Liverpool

Semi-final draw

Manchester City/Atletico Madrid v Chelsea/Real Madrid

Benfica/Liverpool v Villarreal/Bayern Munich

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    Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.

    Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.

    Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.

    Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.

    Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.

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    Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.

    Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.

    He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.

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    The Reds cruised into a 4-0 lead against Spurs by the 59th minute as Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott played starring roles, with Andrew Robertson and Cody Gakpo also getting on the scoresheet.

    They were set up for a slightly nervous finish by Spurs, with substitute Richarlison coming on to score and assist late on to half the deficit to 4-2 by the final whistle.

    Victory kept Liverpool’s very slim title hopes alive after a recent dip in form that saw them take just one win from five before this, and Klopp was pleased with the Reds’ reaction in his penultimate game at Anfield.

    "We are outstanding until we are not," the German told Sky Sports. "It was a really good game. Tottenham can put pressure on Aston Villa again for the Champions League. In high-performance things, you need a spark.

    "Anfield was a special place today. We were 4-0 up, I made the changes, and we lost organisation. Tottenham showed how good they could be. I was happy with the performance.

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    Harvey Elliott curled in Liverpool's fourth goal, having received a pass from Salah, who in the process went into the Premier League's record books.

    Salah is the first player in Premier League history to score 10+ goals and provide 10+ assists in three consecutive seasons.

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