As the club moves closer to replacing its Russian ownership, European champion Chelsea was drawn Friday to play record바카라 웹사이트13-time winner Real Madrid in the Champions League바카라 웹사이트quarterfinals. (More Football News)
The first pairing drawn at UEFA headquarters sent Madrid바카라 웹사이트coach Carlo Ancelotti back to the London club where he won a바카라 웹사이트league and cup double a year before being fired by then-owner Roman Abramovich.바카라 웹사이트
“Ancelotti is a fantastic coach,” Madrid director Emilio바카라 웹사이트Butragueño said of the Italian, who led the team to its 10th바카라 웹사이트European title during his first spell with the club. “He knows바카라 웹사이트how to manage every detail to get the most out of the
players.”
Abramovich, a Russian billionaire with ties to Vladimir Putin,바카라 웹사이트gave up control of the club before having his assets in Britain바카라 웹사이트frozen this month in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.바카라 웹사이트On Friday, prospective new owners of Chelsea were meeting a바카라 웹사이트deadline to submit bids.
All three English clubs avoided each other in the draw, as did all three Spanish teams.
Manchester City and Atlético Madrid were the next teams바카라 웹사이트paired, while Liverpool was drawn to face Benfica and Bayern바카라 웹사이트Munich will play Villarreal.
The City-Atlético pairing sets up a stark contrast of playing바카라 웹사이트styles under longtime coaches Pep Guardiola and Diego바카라 웹사이트Simeone — both seeking a first European title for their clubs.바카라 웹사이트
It also gives Atletico a quick return to the city where this week바카라 웹사이트it eliminated Manchester United with a 1-0 victory typical of바카라 웹사이트the defensive solidity Simeone builds into his team.
The draw included five former champions and five clubs who바카라 웹사이트were involved in the failed Super League project last April.
Villarreal is an exception in both categories, the only team left바카라 웹사이트in the draw that has never reached the final.
In the semifinals, Manchester City or Atlético Madrid will play바카라 웹사이트Chelsea or Real Madrid, and Benfica or Liverpool will face바카라 웹사이트Villarreal or Bayern Munich.
The first legs of the quarterfinals will be played on April 5 or바카라 웹사이트6, with the return games the following week. The semifinals바카라 웹사이트will be played between April 26 and May 4. The final is바카라 웹사이트scheduled for May 28 at Stade de France in the Paris suburbs.
The Stade de France was a late replacement for original host St. Petersburg. UEFA stripped the Russian soccer federation of the right to host the final after the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's last remaining club in European competitions,바카라 웹사이트Spartak Moscow, was removed by UEFA from the Europa바카라 웹사이트League, leaving Leipzig to get a bye into the quarterfinals.
Leipzig was paired with Atalanta on Friday, while German league rival Eintracht Frankfurt was drawn to face Barcelona.바카라 웹사이트Barcelona is playing in the second-tier competition for the바카라 웹사이트first time since 2004, following 17 straight seasons in the바카라 웹사이트knockout rounds of the Champions League when it had Lionel바카라 웹사이트Messi in the squad.
Also, West Ham will face Lyon and Braga will take on Rangers.
There were three former European champions in the draw for the third-tier Europa Conference League in its debut.바카라 웹사이트Feyenoord will face Slavia Prague, PSV Eindhoven will take on바카라 웹사이트Leicester, and Marseille will play PAOK Thessaloniki.
Roma, which is coached by Jose Mourinho, was drawn to face Bodø/Glimt, a Norwegian club which has reached the quarterfinals of a European tournament for the first time.
