SOCCER: Liverpool and Chelsea will renew their European rivalry after they were drawn in the quarter-finals of the Champions League today. Defending champions Manchester United will take on Portuguese champions FC Porto while Arsenal are pitted against Spanish side Villarreal.
Barcelona will meet Bayern Munich in the other quarter-final with the first legs to take place on April 7th-8th and the return legs the following week.
The battle of Britain again pits old European adversaries Liverpool and Chelsea against each other. Liverpool reached the final in 2005 at the expense of the Stamford Bridge club, with then Blues boss Jose Mourinho left seething as Luis Garcia's goal at Anfield, which decided the tie, was deemed to have crossed the line in front of the Kop.
The Reds again prevailed two years ago, winning a penalty shoot-out to make sure of a place in the final, which they lost to AC Milan - the team they had beaten on penalties to win the competition two years previously.
The first leg will take place on April 8th- and Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry was relieved that the second leg at Chelsea will not take place on April 15th, the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
He said: “I’m literally just getting news that we will be playing on April 14th. It is a huge relief and a good outcome.”
Chelsea secretary David Barnard said: “We probably know the inside leg measurements of Rafa’s (Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez) trousers. It‘s something that‘s completely extraordinary they should play so many times.”
United boss Alex Ferguson expressed his pleasure with United’s draw. The Premier League leaders are at home on April 7th, heading to Portugal for the return eight days later.
The Scot said: “This is a good draw for us, we’ve met Porto before and obviously we respect any Portuguese team.
“We have had a huge Portuguese influence in the club firstly with Carlos Queiroz but now with Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Nani so we understand Portuguese football.”
The match brings back memories of 2004, when then Porto boss Mourinho charged up the Old Trafford touchline in delight after a 90th-minute Costinha goal took the Portuguese side through at the expense of United.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was pleased to have home advantage in the second leg on April 15th but does not consider opponents Villarreal to be underdogs.
The Gunners dumped the Spanish side out in the semi-finals in 2006 but Wenger said: “It is a difficult 50/50 draw.
“We know Villarreal and we have the experience having played them before. It is maybe a good opportunity to play the first game away. In this game there is no real favourite and if I show you what has been said in the newspapers over the last six months you cannot put us as a favourite.
“Now many players go away on international duty and I hope we don’t lose players through injuries because many of our players are coming back now from injuries. It looks like we are in a good situation.”
Should Arsenal and United both progress they will meet each other in the semi-finals, with the winners of the Liverpool v Chelsea tie taking on either Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
The first leg of the semi-finals is due to take place on April 28th-29th, with the return matches going ahead the following week.
Champions League quarter-final draw:
Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v FC Porto
Liverpool v Chelsea
Barcelona v Bayern Munich
(Ties to be played on April 7/8 and April 14/15)
Semi-finals
Manchester United/Porto v Villarreal/Arsenal
Barcelona/Bayern Munich v Liverpool/Chelsea
(First legs will be played on April 28/29, second legs will be played on May 5/6)
