Champions League: Bayern get Villarreal in quarterfinals
March 18, 2022
Bayern Munich will meet Spanish side Villarreal in the Champions League quarterfinals in April.
The six-time winners, who last lifted European football's top club trophy in 2020, dispatched Salzburg in the previous round and have been rewarded with what looks like an easier encounter than it might have been following an open draw.
Villarreal have never won the competition, with their best finish being the semifinals in 2006. They are though the reigning Europa League champions and Bayern will be wary after the "Yellow Submarine" pulled off an impressive victory over Juventus in the last 16, stunning the Italians 3-0 in Turin.
Bayern have only ever played Villarreal twice, winning both group stage clashes in 2011.
The quarterfinal first legs will take place April 5 and 6 with the second legs coming a week later. Holders Chelsea will meet record 13-time champions Real Madrid and former coach Carlo Ancelotti in the standout tie of the draw.
The prospective semifinal draw was also held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday. This time there were none of the procedural hiccups which meant December's last-16 draw had to be repeated.
If Bayern get past Villarreal, they will face Benfica or Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in late April and early May.
The final on May 28 has been moved from St. Petersburg to Paris because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Europa League draw
Later UEFA held the draw for the Europa League quarterfinals, where Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Real Betis in the last minute of extra time on Thursday, were paired with Barcelona. RB Leipzig, meanwhile, are to face Italian side Atalanta.
Edited by Chuck Penfold