| Advertisement |
April 13 (UPI) -- The four teams in the UEFA Champions League semifinals found out their respective opponents in a draw held Friday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Real Madrid advanced out of the quarterfinals, beating Juventus 4-3 on aggregate scoring. Bayern Munich advanced by beating Sevilla 2-1 on aggregate. Liverpool got by Manchester City 5-1, while AS Roma tied Barcelona 4-4 on aggregate, but advanced on road goals.
Advertisement
The draw revealed that Roma will battle Liverpool and Bayern Munich will face Real Madrid in the next series.
Liverpool hosts Roma at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday at Anfield in Liverpool, England in the first leg of its semifinals series. Bayern hosts Madrid at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany in the first leg of that series.
"Because I knew I'd have to say something after it, I tried to think about what I feel, but it was not that I thought 'Thank God not Bayern, thank God not Real Madrid, yippee Roma' or the other way around," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told LiverpoolFC.com after the draw.
"It is just the draw and I know it is very exciting, but it is good because the most important news is we are still in the competition. Whichever opponent we would have got, I would have said there is a chance because it is football - so there is a chance against Roma."
Madrid hosts Bayern at 2:45 p.m. on May 1 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain in the second leg. Roma welcomes Liverpool at 2:45 p.m. May 2 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.
The La Liga power beat Juventus in the 2016-2017 Champions League finals, after beating its Bundesliga foe in the semifinals. Madrid is looking to win its third consecutive Champions League title. In fact, Madrid has won three of the last four titles. Bayern was the last non-La Liga team to win the Champions League, when it beat Borussia Dortmund for its fifth title in the 2012-2013 Champions League.
"It's very difficult to get to the semi-final of the Champions League and Real Madrid have done this eight times in a row," Madrid director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno said Friday, according to the team website. "You have to give credit to the players for everything that they are doing. We now have another challenge. Bayern are a great team, with very good players and incredible international experience, it will be very difficult."
"The most difficult part is always still to come. The last step is the hardest because the four best teams are here. We are very excited and our players have shown once again their desire to reach another final."
