The most prestigious soccer league is making its way back. Barcelona and Bayern Munich will meet in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League should both sides make it through, Friday’s draw for the final eight confirmed.
Both teams still need to complete their last-16 ties, with Bayern almost there having won 3-0 away to Chelsea in the first leg, while Barcelona is due to host Napoli after a 1-1 draw in Italy.
Meanwhile, if Manchester City can finish the job in their last-16 tie against Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s team will go on to a quarter-final against either Juventus or Lyon.
City won 2-1 in Madrid in the first leg in March, while Juventus must overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their last-16 tie against Lyon.
Postponed in March as the pandemic took over, all remaining last 16 second legs are due to be played on August 7 and 8.
The winners will advance to the Final Eight, which will be held as a unique straight knockout tournament in Lisbon due to the difficulties caused by the coronavirus.
The draw threw up the possibility of a Clasico semi-final, with Barcelona and Madrid on a collision course to meet in the last four should both make it that far.
The other side of the draw is clearer. First-time quarter-finalists RB Leipzig of Germany will meet Atletico Madrid, runners-up to city rivals Real the last time the Champions League final was played in Lisbon in 2014. Atletico knocked out holders Liverpool in the last 16.
The winners of the Leipzig v Atletico quarter-final will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Atalanta in the last four.
The quarter-finals will be played between August 12 and 15 in the Portuguese capital, with matches shared between Benfica’s Estadio da Luz and Sporting’s Estadio Jose Alvalade.
The semi-finals are scheduled for August 18 and 19, with the final on August 23 at the Estadio da Luz.
All games are set to be played without spectators after UEFA confirmed on Thursday that “matches should take place behind closed doors until further notice” because of the uncertain health situation around Europe.
The situation in Lisbon itself is particularly concerning, with lockdown restrictions reimposed last week on 19 neighborhoods across the northern periphery of the city as virus cases increase at worrying.
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When the draw for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of 2019-2020 took place Friday, most Manchester United fans figured at some point they would see Wolverhampton along the way.
They may be right. The two English Premier League sides, who have already played four times this season in the league and F.A. Cup, look set on a collision course for the semifinals if both can navigate though possibly tricky ties, although that may mostly pertain to Wolves.
United, which already leads 5-0 over LASK Linz in the Round of 16 and is all but in the quarterfinals, would face either İstanbul Başakşehir or FC Copenhagen (Başakşehir leads 1-0 on aggregate). Wolves have a tough contest against Olympiakos Piraeus (1-1 on aggregate) in the RO16, then have to face either Roma or Sevilla in the quarters.
That equates to four full matchdays of fixtures between now and the final afternoon on July 26. And while Liverpool has stormed away to win the title, pretty much everything else is still up for grabs at both ends of the table.
Arguably the most important date in the race for Europe comes on Monday next week as Manchester City discover whether their two-year ban from European competition is upheld.
Handed the punishment by UEFA for Financial Fair Play irregularities, they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland and their case was heard in May.
Their manager Pep Guardiola was in bullish mood on Friday, saying he was confident his team would be able to take up their place in the Champions League in 2020-21.
But if they fail in their appeal, it means that fifth place in the Premier League would be good enough to make the Champions League, a big help to the likes of Leicester, Chelsea, and Man United.
If that is the case, it will take a little bit of the pressure off their final few fixtures.
