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March 16, 2013

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Bayern handed tough Juve draw

FOUR-TIME winner Bayern Munich will face a resurgent Juventus in the pick of the Champions League quarterfinals following the draw yesterday in Nyon, Switzerland, with favorite Barcelona paired with Paris St-Germain.

Bayern, beaten finalist last season, will first host the Serie A champion which is back in the quarterfinals after a seven-year absence.

"That is certainly not a dream draw for us," Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told reporters about meeting the twice European champion.

"Statistically we have not had good experiences with Juventus. It will be difficult and we will need to have two good days against them to reach the semis."

Juve director Pavel Nedved said: "Bayern are one of the hardest teams that we could have faced. We have to approach the tie positively. I'm proud that Juventus are among the top eight sides in Europe and the only Italian side in the draw."

Barcelona, which overhauled a 0-2 first-leg deficit to beat AC Milan in the last 16 this week, will face rising force PSG with the first leg in France. PSG's former Barca frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to miss the first leg through suspension.

Leonardo, sports director at PSG, said: "It is not easy but no draw would have been easy anyway. Paris deserves to be part of the big party."

Nine-time winner Real Madrid will take on Galatasaray in a tie which pits Jose Mourinho, coach of the Spanish side, against his former Chelsea player Didier Drogba. Real is at home first.

Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund was drawn against Champions League newcomer Malaga in the other quarterfinal with the Spaniards at home in the first leg.

The first legs will be played on April 2 and 3.

Meanwhile, English trio Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all managed to avoid each other in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Dethroned Champions League winner Chelsea hosts Russian club Rubin Kazan in the first leg on April 4 while Tottenham is at home the same night against Swiss outsider Basel.

Newcastle heads to former European champion Benfica after scoring with the last kick of the match on Thursday to oust Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala and faces a Benfica side which is two points clear of Porto and unbeaten in 22 domestic matches this season.

Italy's Lazio has been drawn against Turkey's Fenerbache.




 

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