Manchester City Face Real Madrid, Atletico Face Bayern Munich | WakaWaka Reporters
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Manchester City Face Real Madrid, Atletico Face Bayern Munich

Real Madrid have been paired with Manchester City during Friday’s Champions League semi-final draw in Nyon, while Bayern Munich will have to deal with Atletico Madrid if they are to make it to the final.

Friday’s draw means City manager Manuel Pellegrini will take on his former team, having coached Madrid in 2009-10.

Madrid – who saw off Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals – made it to the semi-finals in 2014-15, with Juventus eventually proving to be too strong. They last won the competition in 2013-14, beating Atletico 4-1 after extra time for their 10th-ever European Cup win.

Manchester City, meanwhile, are the rookies in the semi-finals, having never made it to this stage before. They failed to make it past the round of 16 in 2013-14 and 2014-15, but proved to be too strong for Dynamo Kyiv and Paris Saint-Germain on the way to the semi-finals this campaign.

Madrid and City have met twice before, with the Spanish side winning once and drawing the remaining game.
The tie between Bayern and Atletico will see Pep Guardiola return to his native country, having enjoyed so much success at Barcelona before his move to the Bundesliga champions.

Pep Guardiola’s side eliminated Benfica on their way to the semi-finals, holding out for a 2-2 draw in the second leg after a 1-0 win at home in the first leg. They won it in 2012-13 when they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1, but failed to get past the final four since.

Atletico, meanwhile, beat last year’s winners Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to make it to the final four. They crashed out in the quarter-finals last term, losing to Madrid, and have yet to win the Champions League.

Bayern and Atletico’s only previous meeting came in the 1974 final, the Bundesliga side running out 4-0 winners in the replay following an initial 1-1 draw.

The first legs of the semi-finals will take place on April 26 and 27, with the returns scheduled for May 3 and 4. City and Atletico will play the first legs at home.

The final at San Siro is on May 28, kicking off at 20:45CET. The winners of the tie between City and Madrid will be the home team in the final.