Chelsea facing big Bayern test

14 April 2012

Chelsea were today drawn against German giants Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

If the Premiership leaders triumph over the two legs in April, they will face the winners of the Liverpool-Juventus tie in the semi-finals.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon hailed the Bayern tie as "massive" and predicted that the first leg, which will be played at Stamford Bridge, will be a "big night in London".

Chelsea will have to succeed where Arsenal failed to reach the last four for the second successive season and stay on course for the treble of the Carling Cup, Premiership and European Cup.

Bayern, who are second in the German Bundesliga, knocked out Arsene Wenger's team 3-2 on aggregate and have a superb record in Europe's elite competition. They have won the European Cup four times, the last occasion in 2001 when they beat Valencia in the final on penalties.

Bayern have world-class players including Germany captain Michael Ballack, Oliver Kahn, Roy Makaay, Bixente Lizarazu and Englishman Owen Hargreaves. Kenyon, speaking at UEFA's Nyon headquarters where the draw was made, said: "It is a big draw. You could feel the tension in that room today. There are no easy games at this stage and we are delighted to be here.

"We have got to give respect to Bayern, they have won it four times and are the only team to win three in a row. It will be a massive game but our scouting network have been out there looking at all our potential opponents so I am sure we will be fully briefed."

Liverpool face a tough test against two-times winners Juventus. They have not played each other since the 1985 final at Heysel, when 39 supporters died after crowd trouble.

Liverpool were subsequently banned from European competition for six years and have only reached the quarter-finals on one other occasion since, when they were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen three years ago.

Anfield chief executive Rick Parry said it will be an opportunity to pay respect to the fans who died in Brussels. "There is quite a deep friendship between the clubs and I think between the two sets of fans.

"It's of course 20 years since Heysel so we've already mentioned that and something we have given thought to. I'm confident we'll get it right."

AC Milan have been drawn against city rivals Inter Milan and French league leaders Lyon will entertain PSV Eindhoven in the first leg.

In today's UEFA Cup draw Newcastle were paired with Sporting Lisbon, conquerors of Middlesbrough.

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