Chelsea, City and Spurs have been playing each other since the first leg, with Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid leading by three goals after their respective first legs. Such a “remontada” would not exist. Meanwhile, Newcastle had advanced to second leg level against Barcelona on aggregate, but slipped to defeat against the La Liga giants.
There were fears that Liverpool, who led 1-0 heading into the second leg against Galatasaray, would suffer a similar result, but Arne Slott’s side held their spirits to get past the Turkish side.
Arsenal were perhaps the only English team to escape the first leg against Bayer Leverkusen unscathed and comfortably get through the Champions League week or so without sapping too much energy. In their return match at the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side kept it simple, beating the Bundesliga side 3-0 on the night to secure a place in the last eight.
Their reward will be a two-legged draw with Sporting, the Portuguese team Arsenal faced in the last 16 of the Europa League three years ago. The pair also drew in the league last season, with Arsenal winning 5-1 in Lisbon.
Arsenal will be thrilled with this draw and will be hoping for another chance to reach the Champions League semi-finals. Last year, the North Londoners lost to Paris Saint-Germain, who also defeated Liverpool in last season’s competition.
And for the 2025 winner, it will be a return trip to Merseyside to repeat their heroics from 12 months ago. Luis Enrique’s side won their first European title last season, defeating Aston Villa, Arsenal and Inter Milan, coming from a draw on penalties.
Champions League quarter-final full draw:
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Liverpool vs Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
