March, 19 2005	Saturday	08 Safar 1426

NYON (Switzerland), March 18: A Milan derby and an emotional clash between old European rivals Liverpool and Juventus marked the draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Friday. In the two other quarters, runaway English Premiership leaders Chelsea take on German giants Bayern Munich, while fast-improving Lyon go up against Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven.

In case of victory, Chelsea and Liverpool will meet up in the semifinals which were also drawn, while AC Milan or Inter will take on the winner of the Lyon-PSV game. The final will be played in Istanbul on May 25. Three Italian sides, two English and one apiece from Germany, France and the Netherlands went into the draw with no Spanish side in the last eight for the first time in the 12 years existence of the Champions League format.

Liverpool were first out of the hat drawn up against Juventus. The two sides most notoriously last met in the 1985 final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels where 39 fans died in clashes between the two sets of supporters.

The two Milan sides were next out playing both legs in the San Siro Stadium they share. They last met in the semi-finals two years ago when AC Milan triumphed. Lyon and Chelsea, the only two sides left not to have won Europe’s premier trophy both were drawn to play at home in the first leg of their quarter-finals.

The French league leaders and this season’s top scorers in Europe go up against Guus Hiddink’s PSV Eindhoven, while Chelsea were paired with four-times former winners Bayern.

The draw:

Liverpool (ENG) v Juventus (ITA)

AC Milan (ITA) v Inter Milan (ITA)

Lyon (FRA) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Chelsea (ENG) v Bayern Munich (GER)

Semifinal draw

Chelsea or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Juventus

AC Milan or Inter Milan v Lyon or PSV Eindhoven

The quarterfinals are played April 5-6 and April 12-13. The semi-finals are April 26-27 and May 3-4, and the final is May 25 in Istanbul, Turkey.