A new generation of Manchester United players are to have to get through Barcelona to win the Champions League — and Lionel Messi will still be there.
United were drawn on Friday to face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals, hosting the first leg on April 10.
Also on Friday, Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to face Manchester City in an all-English pairing, Liverpool are to face Porto, and Ajax are to meet Juventus.
The first legs will be played on April 9 and 10, with the return games on April 16 and 17.
“I’m coming back to my second home. @ManUtd,” Barcelona’s Gerard Pique wrote on Twitter.
In the 2008 semi-finals, United beat Barcelona before winning their third title.
Tottenham are to host Man City in the first leg on April 9. They also play in the English Premier League in Manchester less than three days after the second leg.
That pairing brought together the only two quarter-finalists who have never been European champions. The other six have won a combined 21 titles.
Five-time champions Liverpool got a rematch against Porto, the team they beat in the last 16 last season.
“We know how good we had to be last year,” Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp said, dismissing talk of his team getting the easiest opponent. “I could not be further away from thinking it’s the best draw, because it isn’t.”
Ajax are to play Juventus in a rematch of two previous finals. Ajax won in 1973, the third of their four European titles, and Juventus won their second title in 1996.
In the semi-final pairings, Tottenham or Man City are to play either Ajax or Juventus, and Man United or Barcelona are to face either Liverpool or Porto.
EUROPA LEAGUE
Carlo Ancelotti is coming back to London, bringing his SSC Napoli team to play Arsenal in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Ancelotti, who won the 2010 English Premier League in the first of his two seasons as Chelsea coach, avoided his former team in Friday’s draw.
Chelsea were paired with Slavia Prague, who shocked five-time champions Sevilla with a comeback late in extra-time on Thursday.
An all-Spanish pairing is to see Villarreal play Valencia, and three-time runners-up Benfica are to face Eintracht Frankfurt.
First-leg games are played on April 11, when Arsenal are to host Napoli. Return games are on April 18.
Arsenal or Napoli were drawn to play Villarreal or Valencia, and Benfica or Eintracht Frankfurt would be at home first against Chelsea or Slavia Prague.
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