Thierry Henry and Barcelona will face Arsenal while Bordeaux take on French rival Lyon in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, which were drawn on Friday.
The draw wound up pitting the tournament favorites, Manchester United and Barcelona, on opposite ends of the bracket so they canno meet until the final. Manchester United takes on Bayern Munich while Inter Milan faces CSKA Moscow.
The semifinals are also set, with the Man Utd/Bayern Munich winner meeting the Bordeaux/Lyon winner. The Barcelona/Arsenal winner will meet the Inter Milan/CSKA Moscow winner in the other semifinal.
The quarterfinals are sent for March 30-31, with the second legs taking place on April 6-7. The semifinals are April 20-21 and 27-28. The Champions League final is May 22 in Madrid.
Which match-up are you most looking forward to? See any upsets on the horizon? Which team do you think got the luckiest?
Share your thought below.
Simple. Barcelona v. ManU in the final. No big mystery here. Final score FCB 3 – 1 MU.
Haha goodbye, Arsenal. I love watching them lose.
It beats the FC Porto-Rubin Kazan final I predicted, that would have been fun.
lets go gunners!
Unfortunately Arsenal draw the best team in Barcelona, however they should fair better than against a physical side, where they always collapse.
You gotta remember though Lyon defeated a quarter of a billion Real squad and Bordeaux has Gourcuff! It’s gonna be more exciting than some of us are given credit here.
Bayern Munchen over ManU wouldn’t be that big of an upset. Bayern has looked solid for months now.
If Arsenal top Barca then it might be wide open because CSKA can beat an at times shaky Inter squad.
I’m actually happy with this draw.
Relatively speaking Inter, Barcelona or Arsenal would be a stronger opponent than Lyon, FCBG or Bayern.
no clue what the final will be but the Inter-Barça rematch is going to be great game. Just like the semi-final vs. Chelsea last year.
ya thank God it is not another 3 english teams and barça.
6 countries.
If I get 2 genuinely good matches out of the 8 I’ll take it at this point.
What a great quarterfinal. Clubs representing five different countries and each club in top form. Every one of these match ups is too close to call.
I just don’t see how anyone says this is fixed.
Why would they fix it to have some teams with a tougher draw ? They don’t like Arsenal ? I don’t know but wouldn’t it make them more money to have Arsenal survive ?
There are 8 spots, two groups of four, it is 50-50 that Man U will be on the same side as Barca.
I meant teams, not countries.
In the Champions League or whatever it was preceding that, Manchester United have only beat Bayern 1 time out of 8 meetings… The Champions League final in ’99.
I don’t expect Barca or Man U to be standing at the end.
This is a good draw.
I pick Bayern to beat Manchester United – does anyone here realize how big that tie is going to be and the history between the two countries?
Also, don’t be surprised if Inter goes down to CSKA. Upsets galore is what I’m hoping for here…
to everyone saying this was the only way a french team would have made the semis need i remind you guys that bayern was in bordeaux’s group and bordeaux beat them twice and won the group.
I think the Lyon and Bordeaux matchup is a complete toss-up. I cannot call it.
I think Man U will beat Bayern Munich, but if Ribery and Robben are clicking, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a upset.
Even though Arsenal plays beautiful football, they cannot hang with Barca. Nobody does it better than Barcelona, and the Gunners will get schooled in truely beautiful football.
Inter will take care of CSKA Moscow. It will be a closer scoreline than it should be, but Mourinho will get his boys through.
completely random…or completely trying to keep man utd and barca apart
Crazy m-fer.
Think luck had something to do with it? This was probably the only matchup that would get a French team to the semifinals. And, it is the combination most likely to get a Barca-Man Utd final — which would be the one most watched. What are the odds it was drawn by chance?
I’m afraid I have to disagree. While Lyon and Bordeaux certainly are very good teams capable of beating the likes of United and Bayern, either team would be considered an underdog against them. Maybe not Bayern vs. Bordeaux actually. But Lyon is currently in fifth place in the French League, so can you really say if they beat United, whose in first place in the EPL, that’s not an upset? Again, I’m not saying it can’t happen, but Lyon is not a powerhouse, especially in the past two seasons. United is clearly a better team at the moment, and to beat them over two legs would be an upset, just as beating Madrid was an upset (although much less of one given their recent history in the CL)…
yeah man, this draw sucks… im hopin that bayern pulls an upset over man u.
and not that im a big fan of the french league, but it woulda been cool seein them have the chance at two teams in the semis, they rarely even have a team make it this far…
Yes. Draw is certainly the operative word here, as in what UEFA wanted was drawn on a board and then announced.
+3 on too bad the French teams were drawn together, though at least one will be in the semis.
Here’s hoping one of them picks off ManU/Bayern and CSKA frustrates Jose and then Barca on the plastic pitch. Imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth if that happened!
Looks good to me. There will be some good matches to watch that’s for sure. My only question now is do I wear my Bayern jersey or my Man U jersey? Hmmm…Gosh I like both teams!
No because if there was a conspiracy Barcelona-Arsenal wouldnt be playing now either. I do think JFK was an inside job though.
i 2nd that
I said the same thing when “the special one” and Inter were matched up against Chelsea last round. Also when Beckham and AC Milan were matched against Manchester United.
no
Call it crazy, call it conspiracy, call it whatever you like…but does anyone find it even remotely suspicious that the draw magically sets up a potential ManU-Barca final?
Lyon beating anyone right now is not an upset. Lyon-Bordeaux will be a classic and right now I’m liking the odds of whomever wins that series to be in this year’s Champion’s League Final. Both teams really are that good.
Bayern v Man United will be the best match along with Arsenal v Barcelona.
Rooting for an Arsenal v Bayern Final!!
Call me crazy, but I’m predicting a Bayern vs. Inter final.
but it’s also a boon to Ligue 1 since one French team is now guaranteed a place in the semis. No such guarantee if they were playing other teams.
My semi-final picks:
Lyon vs. United: Lyon with the upset.
Barca vs. Inter: close tie, but Barca through to the final.
Final prediction:
Barca crushes Lyon in Madrid, 4-1. Messi with a brace.
I think Lyon is a better team than people think. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make the final or at least push United to the brink.
I don’t think Bayern is a walk, but the winner of that match gets a team from France, while Arsenal, Inter and Barcelona are all on the other side of the bracket. Maybe not a walk, but certainly the easiest path.
Completely random, no seeding.
BAYERN! BEAT UNITED!
Fulham plays Wolfsburg, how crazy would it be if they could win the Europa league led by Clint Dempsey, that guy is a legend
Arsenal vs Barcelona in a rematch of a few years ago is going to be fun. For me Im hoping Bayern Munich takes out Man U and there is an Arsenal-Bayern final. It would be good to have a French or German team represented in the end.
Since when did facing Bayern become a walk to the finals?
after watching Inter the other night I’m bummed that they can not meet Barcelona in the final. i second the two Frenchies meeting comment – Ligue 1 always gets a bum rap and it woulda been cool to see them fight against teams from other leagues.
Hey Ives, any idea how the pairings are selected? Is it by lottery?
Henry vs Arsenal. wow.
ManUtd should walk to the final, those lucky bastards. I’m disappointed the French teams have to play each other but at least one of them will be in the semifinal.