Reporter Han Bing reported On the one hand, the winners of the last three years of the Champions League and the biggest favourites to win this year's Champions League gathered in the "death half zone", on the other hand, the three teams of Serie A reached the last eight of the Champions League after 17 years and gathered in the "lucky half zone", competing with Benfica, the only team outside the five major leagues, for one place in the Champions League final. On one side is the "early final of the champions" of the kings of kings, and on the other side is the dark horse channel set up almost exclusively for Serie A. The draw results of the Champions League 1/4 final and even the semi-finals are really full of plots, ice and fire.
Manchester City in the "Half of the Dead" has attracted the most attention to Bayern, first of all, this is an early match between the two biggest favourites to win the Champions League this season, and secondly, it is also the ultimate script for Bayern's strong confrontation along the way.
Pep Guardiola faces the Bundesliga giants he once coached, and at Bayern he left without a Champions League trophy, and now standing opposite him, the Spanish coach is still fighting for his first Champions League trophy after leaving Barca. Bayern's last Champions League game against Manchester City was in the group stage of the 2014/15 season, with one win each, when Pep Guardiola was Bayern's manager. The two teams have won three of the previous six meetings, which is really tied.
Pep Guardiola's time in charge of Manchester City was 12 wins, three draws and one defeat against German teams in eight Champions League games, losing last season's group stage away to RB Leipzig. Bayern are City's third German team this season and are all too familiar.
On the other hand, Bayern, this season's Bundesliga giant's Champions League journey is really full of gold: the group stage meets Inter, Barca, in the only group of death, 1/8 final against Grand Paris, 1/4 final against Premier League champions and the biggest favorite Manchester City. If the opponent is able to overcome the test, the opponent will be the winner between the 2021 and 2022 Champions League winners. It can be said that every hurdle is a battle of kings in the Champions League final, and the 35-year-old manager Nagelsmann is sad to set an age record for the youngest champions in the Champions League.
In contrast, the battle between Real Madrid and Chelsea, the king of kings in the past two seasons, was completely overwhelmed by Manchester City's battle with Bayern. Of course, the titular championship match, because the recent performance of the two teams, is indeed slightly inferior to the former. Of course, Real Madrid and Chelsea are no strangers, this is the third consecutive season that the two teams have met after the 1/8 final. In the previous two seasons, the two teams each eliminated their opponents once and then won the championship. The battle between the two teams became the qualification match for the Champions League winner. However, Real Madrid's all-time record against Chelsea does not prevail, losing only one of their previous seven meetings with Chelsea, the lowest loss rate of any team that has played Real Madrid more than five times in the Champions League (14.2%).
The "death halves" of this season's quarter-final of the Champions League have only been barely matched in the 2013/14 season in the last 10 years. Bayern and Borussia Dortmund were rivals in the 2012/13 Champions League final, joining Real Madrid and Manchester United. Regardless of the final result, the "death half" of this season's Champions League quarter-final is the most exciting knockout half of the Champions League in 10 years.
In recent years, there have always been dark horses in the Champions League knockout rounds, Villarreal in 2022, RB Leipzig and Lyon in 2020, Tottenham in 2019, Rome in 2018, Monaco in 2017, will another dark horse be born in the "unpopular half" of this year's "three-minded battle against the Red Eagles"? After the draw, the mainstream European media were very optimistic about Napoli. With an 18-point lead in the league, Serie A Southern could have given it a shot in Europe.
After the results of the draw were announced, Napoli's odds of winning the title rose from joint 3rd to joint 2nd with Bayern, and the other three teams in the same half were far away, which shows that the outside world is optimistic about Napoli. Moreover, the Napoli have a psychological advantage over the Italian civil war in Europe: in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup quarter-final, they eliminated Serie A side Juventus and eventually won the title under Maradona. This season, Napoli will also have little suspense to win the Serie A cup again after 33 years, and Maradona's memory may allow the Napoli to work wonders in the Champions League. If Napoli reach the final, it will definitely be the most admirable highlight of this season's Champions League.
In addition to the Champions League 1/4 final draw, the Europa League 1/4 final draw has also been announced. Manchester United face Europa League kings Sevilla, the Reds' fourth Spanish opponent in the Europa League this season. Only Leeds United in 2000/01 have had a similar experience in European history. While Manchester United are the favourites to win the Europa League, they are also in the 'dead half' of the Europa League – if they eliminate Sevilla, they will face Juventus and Sporting Portugal. Needless to say, Sporting Portugal have beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal this season.