We’re getting closer and closer to the end of Europe’s most coveted tournament. The UEFA Champions League draw has decided this season’s quarterfinals. The last four fixtures set up a very competitive bracket including:
Atletico de Madrid
Bayern Munich
Benfica
Chelsea
Manchester City
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Villarreal
The draw sets up the bracket all the way to the final. Winners from Atletico de Madrid v. Manchester City and Chelsea v. Real Madrid will face each other in a semi-final, while winners of Benfica vs. Liverpool and Villarreal vs. Bayern Munich play the second semi-final.
We’ll dive down into what we can anticipate from each tie depending on how they’ve performed throughout the competition. Without a doubt, excitement and entertainment can be expected from the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Chelsea vs. Real Madrid
13-time champions Real Madrid meet reigning champions, Chelsea for a repeat of last year’s semi-final. This tie will be a true defensive test as both sides average to concede just 0.6 goals a game. The Spanish giants are coming off a huge comeback win against the star-filled Paris Saint-Germain, while the Blues knocked out out-of-favor Lille.
Madrid’s dominating duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr facing off against Thomas Tuchel’s impressive defensive block will be an exciting battle for survival in the UCL. Luck could be on their side as Chelsea has survived Real Madrid in all five previous matches.
Manchester City vs. Atletico de Madrid
Atlético de Madrid has the unfortunate pleasure of being the only team that has reached three separate UCL finals and has yet to win the trophy. Likewise, Manchester City has also never won it and are the current runners-up having lost the 2021 final 1-0 to Chelsea.
Nevertheless, City has been one of the most consistent teams in the competition. Leading their domestic league, Pep Guardiola’s team faces a competitor it has never faced before. Atletico has had a harder time in this season UCL, but a clutch win against Manchester United gives them an opportunity to cause an upset, which is Diego Simeone’s bread and butter.
Benfica vs. Liverpool
This season’s UCL has included a couple of possible Cinderella stories, but none other than Benfica’s. Forced to go through two extra rounds of qualification to feature in the group stage, Benfica has beaten the odds time and time again and will certainly look to upset the all-time favorites, Liverpool.
Liverpool has only lost one game in this season’s UCL. The closer it gets to the final, the better suited it looks for Liverpool. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz hope to continue their scoring spree for Liverpool against Benfica.
Villarreal vs. Bayern Munich
After Villareal’s stunning 3-0 win away at Juventus, German giants Bayern Munich look to spoil the party. Currently undefeated, Bayern hopes to cruise by as expected. With 30 goals in favor and just five against, the stats speak for themselves.
Unai Emery, Villarreal manager, is used to winning European titles after winning the Europa League three consecutive times with Sevilla and clinching the title again just last year with Villarreal. Their win over Juventus opened plenty of eyes. The Spaniards will surely be a threat against Bayern who have failed to advance against a Spanish opponent in five of their last seven ties.
