It was something of a surprise that three Spanish clubs made it through to the last eight of the Champions League. La Liga is generally considered to be in decline and none of the three sides left after the group stage won its first legs. But all three won the second leg, two of them away from home, and all three face testing ties in a quarterfinal draw that brought no single-country clashes.
Of the three English sides, Chelsea probably faces the toughest test against the Spanish league leader Real Madrid in a clash of the defending champion and the most successful side in European history. Last year’s runner-up Manchester City will face Atlético Madrid while Liverpool may feel it was fortunate, drawing a Benfica side that was extremely fortunate to eliminate Ajax. In the only quarterfinal without an English side, Villarreal will face Bayern Munich.
The draw also set the path to the final in place: The winner of the Chelsea–Real Madrid tie will face the victor from Manchester City–Atlético Madrid in the semifinal, while the winners of Villarreal-Bayern and Benfica-Liverpool will also meet.
