The Malta Independent 25 August 2026, Tuesday
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Updated (2) - Champions League: Madrid teams avoid each other in semi-final draw

Friday, 15 April 2016, 11:43 Last update: about 11 years ago

Real Madrid will play Manchester City for a place in the Champions League final, and Atletico Madrid will take on Bayern Munich.

The first legs of the semifinals will be played on April 26 and 27. The return matches will be played May 3 and 4.

Real Madrid is a record 10-time European champion, while City is in the semifinals for the first time and will play at home first.

The clubs met in the group stage three seasons ago with Madrid winning 3-2 at home and drawing 1-1 in Manchester as City exited without winning a match.

Bayern was paired with Atletico Madrid in a rematch of the 1974 final, when the German club won the first of its five titles. Atletico, a two-time runner-up, is at home in the first leg.

Friday's draw keeps open the chance of a final between the two Madrid clubs to repeat the 2014 title match, or a meeting of coach Pep Guardiola's current and future teams. Guardiola is leaving Bayern after three years to join Man City in the offseason.

The final is scheduled for May 28 at the San Siro in Milan.

Liverpool will play Villarreal in the Europa League semifinals and two-time defending champion Sevilla will face Shakhtar Donetsk.

Liverpool and Sevilla play away in the first legs on April 28. The return matches will be on May 5.

Shakhtar plays "home" matches in Lviv in western Ukraine because of longstanding conflict with pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk.

The final will be played on May 18 in Basel.

The draw created the possibility of all-Spanish finals in the Europa League and Champions League. Earlier Friday, the Champions League semifinal draw paired Real Madrid with Manchester City and Atletico Madrid with Bayern Munich.

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