Possible rivals of Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Champions League are Milan, Inter and Napoli (Italy), Chelsea and Manchester City (England), Bayern Munich (Germany) and Real Madrid (Spain).
With today’s “meringue” and “napolitano” qualifiers, on the last day of the second leg of the “eighths”, the “puzzle” was completed and the “embodied” learned all the clubs that could be in Friday’s draw. -fair.
The big surprise of the 2022/23 Champions draw was the presence of three Italian clubs in the quarters, which has not been seen for 18 years since the 2005/06 season, when Milan reached the semi-finals, unlike Inter and Juventus.
This time, the two clubs and Milan – Inter, the “executioner” Porto, who have not been in the quarters since the 2010/11 season, and Milan since the 2011/12 season, will be joined by Napoli ”, which ranks seventh in the ranking. , for the first time in “rooms”.
The Neapolitan team is enjoying a sensational season on the way to their third Serie A title (18 points more than second-placed Inter) after victories under Diego Armando Maradona in 1986/87 and 1989/90 . also won the 1988/89 UEFA Cup.
For their part, Milan have seven European league titles, the last in 2006/07, and Inter Milan have three, the last in 2009/10, under Portuguese José Mourinho.
Both Milanese clubs have already beaten Benfica in the finals, Milan twice, in 1962/63 and 1989/90, and Inter once, in 1963/64, both of which opened their honors precisely due to the “embodied”.
As for the two Englishmen, Chelsea, which is played by former Benfica player Enzo Fernandes, has the same two titles as the Eagles (2011/12 and 2020/21), whom they beat in the 2012 Europa League final /23 (2-1 in Amsterdam), while Manchester City of the former incarnations of Ederson, Ruben Diaz and Bernardo Silva are “desperately” looking for the former.
The Citizens were in the 2021 final they lost to the Londoners at Dragao (1-0) and now they have the Norwegian Erling Haaland who has just scored five goals against Leipzig for a total of 33 goals. “Champions”, in 25 games.
Germany and Spain, for their part, are represented by their best representatives, respectively, Bayern Munich, who have already won six ears, the last in Luz, in 2020, and Real Madrid, the trophy winner and undisputed king. ‘ competition, with its 14 trophies.
The Merengue have lost only three finals in their history, the first to Benfica, who in the 1961/62 season resumed the European title in Amsterdam, beating the Merengue 5-3 thanks to goals from José Aguas, Cavem, Kolonka and an bis » Eusébio against Gento, Di Stefano and Puskas, who scored a “hat-trick”.
The draw for the quarter-finals, as well as the semi-finals without any restrictions, is scheduled for Friday 11:00 in Nyon, Switzerland.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.