Pages

Football: Man United draw Barcelona in quarter-finals of Champions League

Football: Man United draw Barcelona in quarter-finals of Champions League

PARIS (AFP) - Manchester United will face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals while Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur clash in an all-Premier League tie following Friday's (March 15) draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Liverpool were drawn to play Porto in the knockout rounds for the second year in succession as Ajax's reward for eliminating the holders Real Madrid is a two-legged tie against Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo.
English hopes are high that this could be their year in Europe's elite club competition after all four of their representatives made it through to the last eight.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United will have their work cut out if they are to go any further as they take Lionel Messi's Barcelona in the headline tie.
For Solskjaer, the second leg will bring back memories of the 1999 final, when the Norwegian came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner for United against Bayern Munich at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium.
With City and United not allowed to play their home leg in the same week, United will entertain the leaders of LaLiga at Old Trafford on April 9 or 10, with the return a week later.
The last time the Premier League had four teams in the quarter-finals, in 2008/09, Barcelona beat the Old Trafford side 2-0 in the final in Rome.
The clubs clashed again in the final at Wembley in 2011, with Barca winning 3-1 on that occasion.
Uefa also drew the semi-finals on Friday, meaning the winners of the Barcelona v United will face either Liverpool or Porto in the last four.
Jurgen Klopp's side, fresh from knocking out Bayern Munich in the last 16, will be confident of beating the Portuguese champions after defeating them 5-0 on aggregate in the last 16 on their way to the final last season.
Liverpool will host two-time European Cup winners Porto at Anfield in the first leg before heading to the Estadio do Dragao in the return on April 16 or 17.
There is guaranteed to be one English team in the semi-finals after Tottenham and City were paired together, with the first leg to be played in London.
With Pep Guardiola's team top of the Premier League, 13 points ahead of Spurs in third, City will be the favourites to advance to their first semi-final since 2016. City have also won their last three meetings with Mauricio Pochettino's team.
The draw means there will be three clashes between the sides in 10 days - they are also due to meet in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on April 20.
The winners of that tie will host either Ajax or Juventus in the first leg of the semi-finals.
The latter tie is a repeat of the 1996 final, which the Italian club won on penalties against an Ajax team who had won the trophy the previous year.
Juventus have lost five finals since then but are hoping Ronaldo can fire them to glory this season after his hat-trick knocked out Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
That result ended Atletico's dreams of reaching the final, which will be played at their Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Saturday, June 1.
Quarter-final draw:
Ajax Amsterdam v Juventus
Liverpool v Porto
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
Barcelona v Manchester United
Semi-finals: Tottenham/Man City v Ajax/Juventus
Man United/Barcelona v Liverpool/Porto
First leg April 30/May 1, second leg May 7-8 .
Final: June 1 (Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid)



BAKU (AFP) - Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is a doubt for Wednesday's (May 29) Europa League final against Arsenal because of a knee injury, with coach Maurizio Sarri rating the French star's
Chelsea sweat on Kante fitness for Europa League final



Lloris, the club captain, accepts they must quickly return to the level of performance that made them title contenders until a little over a fortnight ago and produce a flawlesss run-in if they
Hugo Lloris warns Tottenham teammates they have no margin for
eastlondonobserver.com/hugo-lloris-warns-tottenham-teammates-they-have-no-margin-for-error-now-top-four-place-is-in-doubt/
An alarming run has brought just one point from the last four league games with Mauricio Pochettino, the manager, reacting to Saturday's defeat at Southampton by accusing his players of demonstrating misplaced arrogance during a second half when the game slipped from their grasp.
Hugo Lloris: 'Liverpool are playing best football in Premier



Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham were in danger of paying the price for complacency in their 2-1 victory at Leicester City. Spurs scored after just a minute through Harry Kane's 13th goal
Tottenham paid the price for thinking Wolves were beaten



RAHEEM Sterling's hat-trick in Manchester City's 3-1 win over Watford lifted the champions four points clear at the top of the Premier League after Tottenham Hotspur's challenge faltered again with a 2-1 loss at Southampton on Saturday. Manchester City's Raheem Sterling scores their second
Soccer: Manchester City surge clear through Sterling as Spurs



Sarri: Chelsea cannot lose to United. but we need not to lose. It's a very difficult match for both I think." However, Chelsea are yet to win a single point away at a 'top six' club this season.
Top four chasing Chelsea cannot afford to lose at Man United



The official site of the San Antonio Spurs. Includes news, scores, schedules, statistics, photos and video.
San Antonio Spurs



Barca put one hand on title after edging past Sociedad Sociedad had given Barca an early fright in the corresponding fixture back in September before losing out and the Basques again held
Football: Barca put one hand on title after edging past



Football: Mourinho rejects offers, reveals fragile ego at United LONDON • Jose Mourinho revealed that he has turned down three job offers since being sacked by Manchester United last month, adding he was happy to bide his time before taking on his next challenge.
Latest JOSE MOURINHO | The Straits Times



Liverpool laying groundwork for sustained success, says Klopp Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool 's Premier League rivals that the leaders are laying the foundations for long-term success. Klopp's side sit four points clear at the top as they chase Liverpool 's first English title since 1990.
Liverpool laying groundwork for sustained success, says Klopp



Guangzhou (AFP) - Nico Yennaris became the first foreign-born footballer to represent China when the former Arsenal reserve started in a 2-0 home win over the Philippines on Friday. The 26-year-old midfielder was born in London and was an England youth international, but his mother is Chinese and
London-born Yennaris makes China debut in Philippine win
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/06/07/london-born-yennaris-makes-china-debut-in-philippine-win/
London-born Yennaris makes China debut in Philippine win AFP June 7, 2019 AFP No Comments Guangzhou (AFP) - Nico Yennaris became the first foreign-born footballer to represent China when the former Arsenal reserve started in a 2-0 home win over the Philippines on Friday.
London-born Yennaris makes China debut in Philippine win



Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool December 18, 2018 LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Jose Mourinho hinted Manchester United's players are simply not good enough to compete with Liverpool after being brushed aside 3-1 at Anfield on Sunday night by the Premier League leaders.
Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool

0 comments:

Post a Comment