Manchester City Drawn Against Real Madrid In Champions League Semi-Final

 

Manchester City have avoided a meeting with future boss Pep Guardiola after being drawn to play Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League. City, who overcame Paris Saint-Germain courtesy of their 1-0 second-leg win at the Etihad, will play the first leg at home before travelling to the Bernabeu to bid for a place in the final.

The draw means City, who are currently fourth in the Premier League, could face Guardiola's Bayern in the final ahead of the Spaniard's move to Manchester in the summer. Their first job is to find a way past Real, who had a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick to thank for battling back from a 2-0 first-leg defeat to Wolfsburg for a 3-2 aggregate win. Zinedine Zidane's side are yet to face a former winner of Europe's top club competition.

The other semi-final sees Atletico Madrid host Bayern Munich in the first leg ahead of the return leg in Germany. Atletico are in the last four after a brilliant defensive performance against Barcelona helped them to a 2-0 second-leg win for a 3-2 aggregate success, while Bayern survived a scare against Benfica with a 3-2 win over the two legs. Their clash is a rematch of the 1974 final, which the German club won 4-0 in a replay to take the first of its five European titles.

The draw also keeps open the chance of a Madrid derby in the final as a repeat the 2014 title match. Atletico led 1-0 two years ago in stoppage time before Real Madrid leveled and went on to win 4-1 in extra time.

The first legs are to be played April 26/27, with the return legs May 3/4.