The draw for the quarter-final matches was held Friday morning at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. As expected there are some big talking points, not the least being Thierry Henry’s return to face Arsenal. These clubs last faced off in the 2005-06 final when Henry was captain of Arsenal. Another matchup with a rich history is the Manchester United and Bayern Munich tie, which is a repeat of the 1999 final that United famously won with two late goals.
From one perspective, I found it a little disappointing that the two French clubs were drawn against each other but it will still be a banner night for French football. Ligue 1 is guaranteed to have a representative in the semi-finals.
The most intriguing matchup of the round could be Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow. The surprise result of the Round of 16 saw the Russian club dump out Spanish side Sevilla FC on the strength of 2 goals from Tomáš Necid and Keisuke Honda and a terrific, disciplined performance in Spain. Inter surprised many by defeating Chelsea on their home ground to advance to the quarter-finals and manager Jose Mourinho will be looking to replicate his 2004 success by bringing glory to Inter. Below are the full pairings with my picks to advance in bold.
Quarter-Final matches (1st leg — March20/31, 2nd leg — April 6/7)
Olympique Lyonnais v FC Girondins de Bordeaux
FC Bayern München v Manchester United FC
(The winners of these two ties will face off in semi-final 1)
Arsenal FC v FC Barcelona
FC Internazionale Milano v PFC CSKA Moskva
(The winners of these two ties will face off in semi-final 2)
The semi-finals will take place on April 20/21 & April 27/28.
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3 comments… read them below or add one
The following are predictions of mine that will probably take place the way written below. Of course I am not a witch to foresay the number of goals but the reality is that the stronger has a competitive advantage.
Manchester United vs Lyon and Inter vs Barcelona in Semi Finals
Manchester United vs Barcelona at Final
Barcelona will win the cup successively
we know that the winners of the quarter finals play each other in the semi finals but who plays at home in the first leg and when are specific dates for these ties determined
thank you
m corbett
Manc U will fall short of the finals. Do not fret though, Bayern will topple the devils. However, Bordeaux will beat the winner of Manc U/Bayern so it is a moot point. Gourcoff will make the difference for the Ligue 1 leaders. Barcelona will play a thriller with Internazionale and be just as entertaining as last years semi vs Chelsea.
Nevertheless, French ligue 1 champs vs La liga champs for the final on FOX. You heard it here first Lonnie.