Champions League draw in full: Chelsea handed Real…

Champions League draw in full: Chelsea handed Real Madrid quarter-final as Man City meet Bayern Munich

Chelsea will face holders Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals once again.

The two European giants were paired together for the third successive season during Friday’s draw, having also met in an explosive last-eight tie last term that saw Chelsea come agonisingly close to pulling off an epic comeback at the Bernabeu.

Karim Benzema’s first-leg hat-trick at Stamford Bridge looked to have Madrid sailing through, but that advantage was sensationally wiped out by three Chelsea goals in Spain before Rodrygo’s effort and then a 96th-minute Benzema header sealed a pulsating 5-4 aggregate victory for eventual winners Real.

Chelsea overcame Los Blancos in the semi-finals in 2020/21, winning 2-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away before going on to lift the trophy for the second time with victory over Manchester City in Porto.

Karim Benzema’s last-gasp goal sent Real Madrid through at Chelsea’s expense last season (Getty Images)

14-time European champions Real Madrid destroyed Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate to cement their place in the last eight this time around, while Chelsea overcame Borussia Dortmund in a huge result that has helped to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Graham Potter and spark a promising turnaround in domestic fortunes also.

The first leg of this season’s meeting will be at the Bernabeu, before going back to west London for the return fixture.

City boss Pep Guardiola has been handed a mouthwatering reunion with former employers and reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in this year’s quarters, while runaway Serie A leaders Napoli meet AC Milan in an all-Italian affair.

Milan’s cross-city rivals Inter have been drawn against Portuguese contenders Benfica, meanwhile.

The semi-final pathways were also laid out straight after the quarter-final draw at Uefa headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday, with Chelsea and City set to face each other for a spot in the Istanbul showpiece on June 10 if they can each win their respective heavyweight quarter-final match-ups.

The winners of Benfica vs Inter - a tie that has now been reversed - and AC Milan vs Napoli will also go head to head in the semis, with the enticing prospect of a potential Milan derby at the last-four stage.