Tottenham and Manchester City will face each other in an all-English quarter-final of the Champions League next month.
Last year’s beaten finalists Liverpool received arguably the most favourable draw after being paired with Porto, while Manchester United face a daunting tie against Barcelona.
United and Liverpool will meet in the semi-finals if they reach the last four, with Tottenham or Manchester City facing the winner of the quarter-final between Ajax and Juventus.
Manchester City won both of their Premier League ties with Tottenham last season and also beat Mauricio Pochettino’s side at Wembley earlier in this campaign.
Manchester United’s tie against Barcelona means interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will enjoy another trip to the Nou Camp, where he scored the winner in United’s Champions League final win over Bayern Munich in 1999.
The first legs of the quarter-finals will take place on April 9 and 10, with the second legs on April 16 and 17.
The draw in full
Quarters:
- Ajax vs Juventus
- Tottenham vs Manchester City
- Liverpool vs Porto
- Barcelona vs Manchester United
Semis:
- Tottenham or Manchester City vs Ajax or Juventus
- Barcelona or Manchester United vs Liverpool or Porto
Platitudes about no easy games at this level aside, Liverpool will be pretty chuffed with that. Porto was the team with the least pedigree that everyone wanted to avoid.
Manchester United have an extremely tough assignment against Barcelona, but will know that this is not a vintage Barca side.
Tottenham presumably won’t be too enthused about playing a Manchester City side that has won their three most recent meetings.
The only tie not involving an English side Ajax vs Juventus offers plenty of intrigue, with Erik ten Hag’s emerging side trying to upset another European superpower.
telegraph.co.uk
