Champions League quarter-final draw: Holders Chelsea face Real

Matthew Storey

LiveScore

Defending European champions Chelsea will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals

Holders Chelsea will face 13-time European champions Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Manchester City have been drawn against Manchester United’s last-16 conquerors Atletico Madrid in another exciting tie.

The other two games in the last eight see Liverpool come up against Portuguese side Benfica and Bayern Munich take on Europa League champions Villarreal.

Chelsea and Real met in last season’s semi-final as Thomas Tuchel's side won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge following a 1-1 draw in Spain.

But Carlo Ancelotti's men are in ominous form this term, leading LaLiga by 10 points and knocking out Paris Saint-Germain last week thanks to Karim Benzema's stunning hat-trick.

City’s clash with Atleti will see two contrasting styles go head-to-head with Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions facing Diego Simeone’s streetwise side.

And Jurgen Klopp will be thrilled his Reds team have avoided Europe’s big boys and are instead set the task of overcoming Benfica, who are in the final eight for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

It will be a similar feeling of relief for Bayern, though they will be wary of a Villarreal outfit who stunned Juventus 3-0 in Turin on Wednesday night.

Chelsea will need to keep Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema quiet to progress to the semi-finals

The semi-final draw was also completed at the same time, with the winners of Chelsea and Real meeting either City or Atleti.

That means a potential last-four clash between Liverpool and Bayern, should they overcome their respective quarter-final opponents.

When will the games take place?

The quarter-final first legs will be played April 5-6 with the return fixtures taking place April 12-13.

The first legs of the semi-finals will then be held April 26-27 and the second legs on May 3-4.

The Stade de France in Paris will play host to the final on Saturday, May 28, with the location being moved from Saint Petersburg due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.