UCL Draw: Bayern face Madrid, Juveentus battle Barcelona

Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, while Barcelona take on Juventus.

Premier League champions Leicester City, who secured a surprise success over Sevilla in the round of 16, will play Atletico Madrid.

The final tie sees Borussia Dortmund play Monaco, who defeated Manchester City on away goals in the last round.

Real Madrid’s director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno was disappointed at drawing Bayern Munich, and said he would have hoped to face them later in the competition.

“Bayern are one of the worst opponents we could get, no doubt,” Butragueno told beIN Sports. “But [it is disappointing] also for them. We know each other very well, the two teams.

“We must go into the games knowing how difficult it will be, they have top class players in every position, with so much experience. It is a great club, we have a very good relationship with them. We would have liked to meet them later in the competition, but the draw is this, and we must take it on.”

The second leg at home at the Bernabeu was a slight advantage, Butragueno said, assuming Madrid get a good result in Germany.

“If we get a good result here there then yes,” he said. “The second game at home gives you a very slight advantage. But we must play a good game there. We know that 20 good minutes from Bayern can be deadly for us. Today is not the best draw we could have got. But we are a team with top players and lots of experience. It is a very nice tie to be able to play, and everybody will be watching these games.”

The tie brings current Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti back to the club where he won the Champions League in 2013-14, his first season in charge, but was then sacked by president Florentino Perez after his second season finished without a major trophy being won.

“Carlo is a great coach, with so much experience,” Butragueno said. “He has won everything as a player and as a coach. Which tells you everything. We will talk these days, we get on very well with him. He is a gentleman who knows a lot about football. So it is not such good news for us.”

 

Anthony Nlebem with Wire Reports