updates
Quarter-final cracker avoided
FC Bayern meets CL outsiders Villarreal
03/18/2022, 12:16 p.m
FC Bayern avoids a heavyweight in the quarter-finals of the Champions League: The only remaining German club meets outsiders FC Villarreal. This is the UEFA draw. Liverpool could then wait in the semi-finals.
FC Bayern Munich meets Spanish outsiders FC Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. That was the result of the draw at the headquarters of the European Football Union. The quarter finals will be on 5/6. April and 12./13. Held in April, Bayern first plays away from the reigning Europa League winners.
“We are Bayern Munich, we’re going there with self-confidence. Of course, we want to get ahead,” said Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. But he warned of the seventh-placed in the Spanish league: “They’re a good team. Winning 3-0 in Turin in the round of 16 second leg against Juve is of course a surprise.” Thomas Müller also emphasized: “We’re looking forward to it, it won’t be easy. We saw them against Juve. We have to fight for every ball until the last minute.” In the group stage of the 2011/2012 season, Bayern had won both games against Villarreal.
The semi-finals of the Champions League will follow from the end of April. The final is scheduled for May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris. In a possible semi-final, the winner of the duel between Liverpool FC and Benfica Lisbon would be Munich’s opponent. Jürgen Klopp’s team is the clear favorite against the third-placed team in the Portuguese league.
Top duels between England and Spain
The defending champion FC Chelsea, affected by sanctions against its Russian owner Roman Abramowitsch, with coach Tuchel and the German internationals Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, will face Toni Kroos in the quarter-finals with record winner Real Madrid. The next round will be completed by Premier League leaders Manchester City meeting Atlético Madrid.
Bayern were the only Bundesliga representatives to make it into the knockout rounds of the premier class. Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg did not survive the group stage. The Munich team had won all six of their games in the preliminary round and thus confirmed their role as title contenders. In the round of 16, coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team prevailed against Red Bull Salzburg. A tedious 1:1 in the first leg was followed by a spectacular 7:1 in the second leg in Munich.
Last season, Bayern, weakened by injuries, lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals. The temporary absence of defender Niklas Süle, who has to take a longer break due to a torn muscle fiber, and the recent injury to top scorer Robert Lewandowski therefore awaken unpleasant memories of the bad luck in the previous season for the German record champion.