Manchester City and Arsenal will meet in an all-Premier League Champions League semi-final should the former beat Real Madrid and the latter overcome Bayern Munich in their respective quarter-finals.
Friday’s draw for the quarter and semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition pitted City against Real for a third successive year, the previous two occasions having been in the last four. In 2022, the Spanish giants defeated Pep Guardiola’s side on their way to a record 14th triumph. Last season City prevailed en route to beating Internazionale 1-0 in the final to claim the treble.
“It looks like a little bit of a tradition, three years in a row playing the kings of the competition,” said Guardiola. “Hopefully we can arrive in a good moment but there are still a few weeks before the first game in Madrid. When people say draws are easy you undermine the other opponent, but it’s not necessary to say what Real Madrid are in this competition. When you play the latter stages you play against the best teams in Europe and Real Madrid are totally there.
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
“But all the opponents are really tough, everybody knows it. We were excited before the draw because it’s a privilege every time we are here. It is a special competition.”
Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director, believes City can defend their trophy. “Yes, why not,” he insisted. “We are doing very well in this competition and winning the games. Mentally we are strong and confident. We are going to need it to beat Real Madrid.”
City travel to the Bernabéu on 9 April for the first leg with the return at the Etihad Stadium the following week. On both occasions they are likely to come up against Jude Bellingham, who is enjoying a standout first season in Madrid having so far scored 21 goals in 33 appearances.
Bellingham’s England teammate Harry Kane is himself having a standout first season at Bayern, scoring 34 times so far, including a record four hat-tricks in a debut Bundesliga campaign. The striker will no doubt be relishing the prospect of facing Arsenal again having enjoyed scoring success against the current Premier League leaders during his time at north London rivals Tottenham.
Arsenal are at home in the first leg, on 9 April, before travelling to the Allianz Arena for the return the following week. In their previous two visits to Bayern, they have suffered 5-1 reverses.
“We certainly have the most difficult path ahead of us that you can imagine,” said Thomas Tuchel, Bayern’s manager. “We now face one of the best teams in Europe. They’ve been playing consistently at the top level for two years. They’re a homogenous, dangerous team, they score a huge number of goals. We’ll be ready, though. We know our qualities.”
Bayern supporters are not allowed to travel to north London for the first leg due to a Uefa ban following the throwing of fireworks onto the pitch during the German side’s last-16 tie with Lazio.
On the other side of the draw, there could be an all-Spanish semi-final after Atlético Madrid were drawn against Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona landed Paris Saint-Germain.
