Atletico Madrid handed chance to avenge Lisbon loss

Atletico Madrid face city rivals Real in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, 11 months after the two sides met in the Lisbon final.

A Diego Godin goal looked set to give Los Rojiblancos a first ever Champions League title last May, until Sergio Ramos struck in stoppage time to force the match into extra-time. From there on Real took the initiative, with goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo crowning Los Blancos as European champions for a tenth time.

Diego Simeone’s side have now been given the chance to avenge this defeat after the two sides were drawn together in the quarter-final of this year’s competition. Atletico, who edged past Bayer Leverkusen on penalties in the Round of 16, will host the first leg, whilst the Bernabeu will be the centre of attention for the return match a week later.

Laurent Blanc, who guided his Paris Saint-Germain side past Chelsea in perhaps the biggest surprise of the previous round, has been rewarded with a return to Barcelona who eliminated Manchester City 3-1 on aggregate this week. The former France international won the European Cup-Winners Cup during his one season at the Camp Nou in 1996-97.

Pep Guardiola, who was in attendance at the Camp Nou to watch his former side on Wednesday, will fancy his chances of leading Bayern Munich to the semi-finals after they were drawn against Porto. Italian champions Juventus, meanwhile, will also be pleased with their draw, as they take on Arsenal’s conquerors Monaco for a place in the last four.

In the UEFA Europa League, meanwhile, holders Sevilla take on Andre Villas-Boas’ Zenit St Petersburg, Dnipro face Club Brugge, and Wolfsburg take on Rafael Benitez and Napoli. Dynamo Kiev, who eliminated Everton from the competition on Thursday, take on Fiorentina who disposed of Tottenham Hotspur in the first knockout stage.

The first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will take place on 14 and 15 April, with the return on 21 and 22 April. The Europa League’s first legs will take place on Thursday 16 April, with the deciding leg being played a week later on 23 April.

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