CNN
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The Champions League has been whittled down to just eight contestants as the remaining teams found out their quarterfinal fate in Friday’s draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
After comfortably dispatching Liverpool in the previous round, holder Real Madrid was drawn against another English club in Chelsea.
Real will be the considerable favorite going into that tie given Chelsea’s struggles this season, but Graham Potter’s side may have finally turned a corner after winning three straight games for only the second time this season.
Chelsea qualified for the quarterfinals after impressively overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, who scored the match-winning goal in the final two years ago when the London team beat Manchester City.
However, Real will rightly feel confident that it can once again progress to the semifinals after that statement 5-2 hammering of Liverpool at Anfield in the round of 16 first leg.
It was a historic result – Liverpool’s largest home defeat in Europe – with Real going on to comfortably see out the tie with a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu courtesy of Karim Benzema’s goal, taking the Frenchman’s Champions League tally to 89.
The Real striker has scored a remarkable 13 goals in his last eight knockout matches in the competition, making him the most feared marksman in Europe as the Spanish club continues its campaign to lift a 15th European Cup.
Draw in full:
Real Madrid vs. Chelsea
Benfica vs. Inter Milan
Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich
AC Milan vs. Napoli