Barcelona and Real Madrid discover Champions League opponents

There will be two La Liga representatives in the quarter-final stage of the 2024-25 Champions League: Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Catalans progressed after a 4-1 aggregate victory over Benfica, but it was much less comfortable for the defending champions, who needed penalties to see off city rivals Atletico Madrid.

After the conclusion of Wednesday’s matches, the line-up for the Champions League quarter-finals is now known. Barcelona will be facing off against Borussia Dortmund, who secured an excellent 2-1 victory over Lille in the second leg of their round of 16 tie to book their place in the last eight.

The first leg of that tie will be played at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on the 9th of April, with the return leg in Dortmund six days later. Because they are at home first, Barcelona will be determined to secure a significant advantage before the away match, but they are boosted by the fact that they have already beaten the Bundesliga giants in their own stadium this season, winning 3-2 during the league phase.

Real Madrid’s reward for seeing off Atleti is a match-up against Arsenal, who emphatically defeated PSV Eindhoven 9-3 across two legs in their round of 16 tie. The first leg will be at the Emirates Stadium on the 7th of April, while Los Blancos will have home advantage for the return match on the 16th.

Barcelona and Real Madrid will both fancy themselves to progress to the semi-final stage of the Champions League, where they would face further tough match-ups. Hansi Flick’s side would be up against Inter Milan or Bayern Munich if they defeat Dortmund, while Carlo Ancelotti and his squad of players would be up against Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa.