Champions League S/Final: Barca Face B/Munich

FC Barcelona of Spain will play away against FC Bayern Munich of Germany in the first leg semi final of UEFA Champions League on 23 April at the Allianz Arena in Germany.

In the draws held early today, Lionel Messi inspired Barca were paired against the German giants. Bayern Munich and Barcelona met in the quarter-finals four seasons ago. Barca prevailed and won the competition; they also met in the 1998/99 group stage with Bayern winning 2-1 at the Camp Nou.

In other pairing, Borrusia Dortmund of Germany will be at home against Real Madrid of Spain. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund met in this season’s group stage with the German side taking four points off their rivals in Group D.

Winners of the semi finals will battle for the coveted trophy in the final scheduled for Wembley Stadium, London, England on 25 May.

In the Europa League  semi final pairings, which were also decided today, Chelsea were drawn against Basel, who stopped Tottenham from progressing to the semi finals yesterday, while Joseph Yobo’s Fenerbahce of Turkey  will meet Benfica of Portugal. The Blues will travel to Switzerland for the first leg on 25 April, and welcome Murat Yakin’s side to Stamford Bridge on 2 May.

The Turkish giants will host Benfica, who eliminated Newcastle, for the first leg, before playing out the decider in Lisbon’s Stadium of Light.