All about UEFA Champions League quarter-finals draw
Serie A leaders Napoli take on AC Milan in an all-Italian quarter-final.
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The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday. (AFP)
Real Madrid will play Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the second season running, while Manchester City were paired with Pep Guardiola's former side Bayern Munich in Friday's draw.
Serie A leaders Napoli take on AC Milan in an all-Italian quarter-final and Inter Milan face Portuguese league leaders Benfica.
🇪🇸 Real Madrid vs Chelsea 🏴
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 17, 2023
🇵🇹 Benfica vs Inter 🇮🇹
🏴 Man City vs Bayern 🇩🇪
🇮🇹 Milan vs Napoli 🇮🇹
*FC Internazionale Milano's match has been reversed in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/m1gMqFs1fV
The winners of Real's tie against Chelsea will proceed to face either City or Bayern in the semi-finals, throwing open the possibility of an all-English last-four tie.
That also increases the chances of seeing an Italian team reach the final for the first time since Juventus in 2017, as Inter will play either Milan or Napoli in the semi-finals should the Nerazzurri beat Benfica.
A year ago, no Serie A side made it beyond the last 16, but now Italian league leaders Napoli will face the team who won the Portuguese domestic title last season.
Napoli are the only other club left in the competition other than City who have never won the trophy, while Inter's meeting with Benfica brings together two teams who have won it five times between them.
Inter, currently second in Serie A, 18 points behind Napoli, have not reached the semi-finals since last winning the trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2010, the last victory for an Italian club in the Champions League.
The quarter-final first legs will be played on April 11 and 12. The semi-finals will be played in May with the final in Istanbul scheduled for Saturday, June 10.
