Favorite FC Barcelona was drawn against Benfica on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, while Italian champion Juventus meets Arsenal.
Six-time winner AC Milan faces French league leader Lyon, and the other quarterfinal pitted Spain's Villarreal against Inter Milan or Ajax Amsterdam, who play the second leg of their round-of-16 match on Tuesday.
"[Benfica] is a strong team, well equipped and one that is here on its own merits," Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes was quoted as saying by newswire Efe. "So we must not think it will be easy to advance."
The draw means Barcelona will be up against the man who scored the winner in its only final win in 1992 -- Benfica coach Ronald Koeman.
Benfica, which won the last of its two European Cups in 1962, ousted defending champion Liverpool on Wednesday, while Barcelona knocked out English champion and Premier League leader Chelsea.
Juventus' France midfielder Patrick Vieira will face his former Arsenal teammates for the first time since moving to the Italian champion in the offseason.
"It will be nice to see Patrick Vieira back at Highbury," Arsenal vice chairman David Dein said.
Dein said Thierry Henry will have a point to prove after leaving Juventus to join Arsenal -- where coach Arsene Wenger transformed him from unhappy winger to prolific striker.
Arsenal knocked out record nine-time winner Real Madrid on Wednesday, while Juventus edged Werder Bremen on away goals on Tuesday following a goalkeeping blunder.
Villarreal and four-time champion Ajax are tied 2-2 from their first leg in Amsterdam, and the return was rescheduled for Tuesday because Inter's San Siro stadium was staging AC Milan's victory 4-1 over Bayern Munich.
The quarterfinal first legs are scheduled for March 28-29, with the returns April 4-5.
UEFA also made the semifinal draw, setting up the possibility of Juventus facing Inter in an all Italian matchup. Milan and Barcelona may face each other for a place in the May 17 final at the Stade de France.
The semifinal pairings were: Arsenal or Juventus versus Inter Milan, Ajax or Villarreal; Lyon or AC Milan versus Benfica or Barcelona. The first legs of the semifinals are April 18-19 and return games are April 25-26.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
RSS