Real draws City, Atletico takes on Bayern in semis
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A REPEAT of the 2014 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is still possible after yesterday’s semifinal draw.
Real, which won that game 4-1 after extra-time, will play first-time semifinalist Manchester City, with the first leg in north-west England.
Atletico, which beat holder Barcelona in the last eight, hosts Bayern Munich in its first leg.
City will host Real on April 26 and Atletico faces Bayern the following evening. The final is in Milan on May 28.
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola misses what would have been a difficult semifinal for him personally against City, the Premier League side he will take charge of next season.
“It’s a great tie against the team that has won the competition the most times,” Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s sporting director, said.
“But we have got this far and we want to keep dreaming.
“I think that Madrid are the favorites. They have been in the semifinals 27 times, six in a row. But Paris (St Germain) were also a great team and we were able to knock them out.”
Real, record 10-time champion, is unbeaten in its last eight games against English clubs. Its only previous tie against City came in 2012 when the Spanish side won 3-2 at home before drawing 1-1 in Manchester.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick to win the quarterfinal against Vfl Wolfsburg, it will be another return to Manchester, where he spent six years with United before moving to Spain in 2009.
The Madrid manager at that time was Manuel Pellegrini, now in charge at City until Guardiola replaces him. The Chilean was sacked by Real after only one season but denied that would be any extra motivation.
The only time Atletico has met Bayern was in the 1974 final, when the German side won 4-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. “A team that eliminates the title holders has to be taken very, very seriously,” said Bayern board member Andreas Jung.
Chinese ‘bid’ for Milan
AC Milan President Silvio Berlusconi received an offer from China to take a majority stake in the seven-time European champion with an agreement not far away, Italian media reported yesterday.
According to sports daily Corriere dello Sport, the proposed deal would be for 70 percent of the club, worth around 400 million euros (US$45.1 million).
Gazetta dello Sport though reported the deal is worth between 600 and 700 million euros, equivalent to a majority, but did not elaborate further.
The identity of the bidder is not known for certain, but Corriere dello Sport speculated that it could be from either internet entrepreneur Robert Li or He Xiangjian, who made his fortune in producing air conditioning.
Both men are among the 10 richest in China, according to the 2015 Forbes rich list.
Milan is struggling this season and sits sixth in the table.
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