Champions League quarter-final ties as Liverpool and Arsenal verify opponents
Arsenal and Liverpool have discovered their Champions League quarter-final opponents, after the Reds smashed Galatasaray at Anfield on Wednesday night to complete the line-up
Liverpool were at their best to batter Galatasaray(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Liverpool will have the opportunity to seek retribution against Paris Saint-Germain after they joined Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals. Arne Slot’s team overturned their 1-0 first-leg loss to Galatasaray by securing a 4-0 victory at Anfield in the second leg.
On Tuesday, Arsenal secured their spot in the last eight with a comfortable 2-0 win at home against Bayer Leverkusen, progressing 3-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, Manchester City and Chelsea both crashed out after failing to reverse heavy first-leg defeats against Real Madrid and PSG respectively.
Newcastle followed suit on Wednesday, as they were trounced 7-2 by a rampant Barcelona. And to round off a disappointing last 16 for the six English clubs, Tottenham also couldn’t bounce back from last week’s 5-2 hammering away to Atletico Madrid, despite winning 3-2 on the night.
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Elsewhere, Harry Kane and Bayern Munich sailed past Atalanta with a 10-2 aggregate thrashing, and Sporting Lisbon executed an epic second-leg comeback by defeating Bodo/Glimt 5-0. This has set the stage for a tantalising quarter-final round.
Liverpool will face PSG whilst Arsenal take on Sporting. Both Premier League sides will be away in the first leg and have home advantage in the second thanks to their superior league phase finishes.
PSG knocked Liverpool out of the competition last season before going on to clinch their first European title. Also in the 2024-25 edition, Arsenal journeyed to Sporting in the league phase. The Gunners previously encountered the Portuguese titans in the Europa League knockouts three years ago.
Bayern and Real Madrid will square off for arguably the clash of the round. Lastly, Barcelona will have their own chance at revenge against Atletico Madrid, who recently defeated them in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Barca and Atletico will, by coincidence, face each other three times in four matches next month. They’re scheduled to meet in La Liga on Saturday, April 4 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.
Last year’s semi-finalists, Barcelona, delivered the scoreline of the week as they demolished Newcastle with four goals in the second half. A brace each from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski were complemented by strikes by Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez as well as a penalty from Lamine Yamal.
The bookies’ favourites for the competition, however, remain Bayern and Arsenal. The two teams topped the league phase, although Arsenal outperformed the German giants 3-1 when they clashed in November, as Mikel Arteta aims to steer the Gunners to an unprecedented quadruple.
But what of Real Madrid? The 15-time European champions managed to overcome City without Kylian Mbappe for most of the tie, and they’ll be eager to conclude a turbulent season with a 16th title.
The first legs will take place on Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8. The second legs will follow on April 14 and April 15.
Champions League quarter-final fixtures
- Liverpool vs Paris Saint-Germain
- Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
- Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona
- Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal
