Champions League and Europa League semi-final draws

The Champions League semi-finals have been drawn, where two Spanish, one English and one German sides remain.

Chelsea clash with Atletico, which will see Fernando Torres face his former club, while the competition’s top two favourites Bayern Munich and Real Madrid go head-to-head. The ties will take place on April 22nd and 23rd, and April 29th and 30th.

The Champions League quartet battle it out for the final prize that will be held at Benfica’s Stadium of Light in Lisbon on May 24th.

Meanwhile, the Europa League last four sees Spanish duo Sevilla and Valencia fight it out, while Portuguese table toppers Benfica challenge Serie A leaders Juventus. The games will be played on April 24th and May 1st.

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, who eliminated French giants and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-less PSG (in the second-leg) on away goals (3-3) in the last round, now face a double header against Atletico.

The Blues will certainly feel relieved to have avoided Bayern and Real, and have the slight advantage playing the first leg at the Vicente Calderon.

Former Atleti graduate Torres will face his old club for just the second time. The Spain international was on the losing side in the Supercup (4-1) as he was overshadowed by a Radamel Falcao hat-trick.

La Liga leaders Atletico, meanwhile, managed a famous victory over Spanish rivals and Catalan giants Barcelona 2-1 on aggregate. They are the only club who remain in the competition that have yet to win the Champions League.

Real Madrid, who host Bayern first in their semi, held a 3-0 first leg lead against Borussia Dortmund in the quarters, but went through after a nervy 2-0 loss in the away tie. They will likely be without Cristiano Ronaldo at the Bernabeu due to injury, which would seemingly hinder their chances of building a good lead.

Bayern Munich saw off a determined Manchester United after a tricky second leg. The match at Old Trafford finished 1-1 with Pep Guardiola’s side holding the edge, but the Red Devils went ahead in Munich thanks to a stunning Patrice Evra strike.

Wonder went to blunder within a minute, however, as the French left back allowed Mario Mandzukic to equalise, which resulted in a resurged Bayern win 3-1 on the night.