Sporting Alert

College Football, NCAAB, NBA, NFL

bayern munich

Mario Gotze Could Still Leave Bayern Munich

by Leave a Comment

MUNICH, Sporting Alert – Despite featuring in both of Bayern Munich’s Audi Cup starting teams this week, Mario Gotze remains coy about his future with the German champions.

Gotze, who has been linked with Juventus, started and scored in the 3-0 win over AC Milan in the semi-finals of the 2015 International Audi Cup on Tuesday, before featuring in the starting XI again against Real Madrid in the final on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, it is understood the German attacker still wants to be guaranteed more playing time and will meet with his manager Pep Guardiola to see where he stands before making a decision on whether to stay or leave.

Gotze moved to Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund in 2013 with the hopes of becoming a regular for the Bundesliga champions.

However, things have not been going according to plan and the 23-year-old is now thinking about his options.

The attacking midfielder is also becoming more concerned over the number of recruits being brought in by Guardiola to play in his positions – with the newest addition being Douglas Costa, who looked very settled during the Audi Cup and could play ahead of him once the season starts.

“We’ll have to see what happens next,” he said before the Real Madrid clash.

He added on Tuesday: “All will become clear if the coach will talk to me more often.

“I’ll just wait and see, then we’ll also see what happens after. [My future] will also then be revealed.

“The last two years have not been so easy.”

Serie A champions Juventus have shown interest in signing the World Cup winner and he could be the perfect replacement of Arturo Vidal, who joined Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

According to reports, “preliminary talks” have already been held between Bayern Munich and Juventus over Gotze’s purchase, but the attacking midfielder wants to wait before making his decision.

It is thought several German fans haven’t been pleased with the way Guardiola has been treating one of the country’s best talents and would be very disappointed if he was allowed to leave his home.

Reports are also suggesting that Liverpool would be interested in bringing Gotze to Anfield, though a move to the Premier League looks well out of reach at the moment.

Watch Madrid v Tottenham; Bayern v Milan Live

by Leave a Comment

MUNICH, Sporting Alert – The 2015 International Audi Cup will see Real Madrid, Tottenham, Bayern Munich and AC Milan battling for the preseason crown.

Action on Tuesday will begin with Spanish giants Real Madrid taking on English Premier League outfits Tottenham at 12:15 pm ET, while German champions Bayern Munich and Serie A giants AC Milan do battle at 2:45 pm ET. Following Live Scores and Updates | Live Streaming on Watch ESPN, TV channel, ESPN 2.

Madrid head into the clash with Spurs without leading attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with the club reporting that both players were deemed unfit to travel and were left out of the squad for the tournament at the Allianz Arena.

“Cristiano and Benzema aren’t here, they had some problems this morning and we prefer not to risk them because our players’ health is the most important thing,” said Real boss Rafa Benitez.

It is understood that Ronaldo wasn’t selected because Benitez felt he needed to work on his fitness, after the Portugal forward went through a light training session on his return from agent Jorge Mendes wedding.

At the same time, Benzema, the club reported, is carrying a muscular injury on his right thigh and isn’t fit to play.

“Following tests carried out on Karim Benzema by the Real Madrid Medical Services at the Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital today, he has been diagnosed with a muscular injury in his right thigh,” a statement on www.realmadrid.com read.

With Benzema and Ronaldo missing, it opens the door for former Tottenham forward Gareth Bale to lead the attack, with Benitez contemplating about giving the Wales international a central attacking role.

“Bale will play, he’s a huge player for us,” Benitez confirmed. “I won’t talk about offers. He wants to play well, he’s happy, we practised certain moves today.

“Everything looks good and he’s going to have an excellent season with us.”

Tottenham, in the meantime, will be using the tournament as its final preparations ahead of the Premier League opener against Manchester United on Saturday.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino is set to name the lineup he would like to use against United this weekend, although goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is a major doubt because of a wrist injury.

However, the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane are all expected to feature.

The second game of the tournament will see Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich facing a new look AC Milan side who are confident about challenging Juventus for the Serie A crown this season.

Bayern comes into this fixture on the back of a shootout defeat to Wolfsburg in the German Super Cup and manager Pep Guardiola is hoping his side will quickly bounce back from the defeat.

It is still uncertain about how Guardiola will lineup his team on Tuesday, but it is understood World Cup winner and the reported wantaway German Mario Gotze, will get his chance to play.

AC Milan head into this competition on the back of a productive International Champions Cup earlier this summer, where they defeated Inter Milan and only fell against Real Madrid in the second game on penalties.

Live stream of the 2015 International Audi Cup is on Watch ESPN, while ESPN 2 will broadcast the preseason tournament live in the USA. UK viewers can watch the games live on Premier Sports.

Wolfsburg Beats Bayern In German SuperCup

by Leave a Comment

WOLFSBURG, Sporting Alert – Wolfsburg carved out a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich to win the German Super Cup title on Saturday.

The sides were all squared at 1-1 at the end of regulation, after Wolfsburg scored a late equaliser to send the game into penalties.

Bayern Munich took the lead in the 49th minute through Arjen Robben after the Dutchman – back from injuries – took advantage of a goalkeeping error to finish off an assisted by Robert Lewandowski.

However, Wolfsburg grabbed a late equalising goal from former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner, who finished from close range off a cross from Kevin de Bruyne.

In the shootout battle, De Bruyne, Andre Schuerrle, Max Kruse, Bendtner and Ricardo Rodriguez all converted for Wolfsburg.

Arturo Vidal, Douglas Costa, Robben and Philipp Lahm all scored their respective spot kicks for Bayern Munich, but Xabi Alonso failed to convert his penalty after goalkeeper Koen Casteels stopped his attempt with a brilliant save.

Wolfsburg were winning the first title of the news season and it sets things up for what is expected to be a battling campaign.

“It was a really great Super Cup with a high tempo,” winning manager Dieter Hecking said.

“Bayern had one or two very good chances on goal – indeed they had more chances overall.

“Overall, though, it was a good performance from my team.”

Bayern Munich’s coach Pep Guardiola, although noted that the winning the Champions League and the Bundesliga crowns were higher on his list, admitted that it was disappointing to lose the Super Cup.

“Obviously the Bundesliga, cup and Champions League are more important, but a title is a title,” said the former Barcelona boss. “It’s a shame.”

Wolfsburg’s impressive efforts in the Bundesliga last season piloted them in the Champions League where they will join Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the group stage of the competition.

Patrick Kluivert: Bayern Munich Will Beat Shakhtar At Home

by Leave a Comment

(Sporting Alert) — Former Barcelona and Netherland striker Patrick Kluivert believes Bayern Munich holds the upper hand in their Champions League second round tie with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Bayern Munich
Bastian Schweinsteiger in action for Bayern Munich in Ukraine.

A ten-man Bayern Munich side played to a 0-0 draw on the road at Donbass Arena, but never really looked like troubling the hosts.

In fact, despite hogging up 63.6 percent of the possessions and dominated with 656 passes, the German champions only managed shot on goal.

Kluivert admits that the result was disappointing for the travelers, but he added that Pep Guardiola’s men have enough about them to take care of business at Allianz Arena in the second leg.

He picked the Bundesliga side to win 2-0 at home in the return fixture.

“For Bayern… disappointed result, but at home they will finish the game,” Kluivert wrote on his official Twitter Account.

Bayern was forced to play the final 25 minutes of Tuesday night Champions League contest with 10 players after holding midfielder Xabi Alonso was sent off in the 65th minute.

The former Real Madrid star picked up his second yellow card for bring down Alex Teixeira in what was his 100th Champions League appearance.

Interestingly, it was the same player Alonso committed his first foul on for his first yellow of the game.

Bayern Munich had several close chances to score in the game, but the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller all failed to capitalized on half chances in Ukraine.

Guardiola, who started the game without an out-and-out center forward brought on Robert Lewandowski in the final 15 minutes for Mario Gotze in his search for a late, but the change wasn’t successful, as Shakhtar Donetsk played very organized at the back.

The match was played several hundred miles from Shakhtar home field due to issues in the country.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Paris St Germain played to a 1-1 draw in the day’s second last round of 16 game in Paris.

Branislav Ivanovic put Chelsea ahead in the 36th minute, but poor defending in the second half between Gary Cahill and John Terry saw striker Edinson Cavani sneaking in to head home the equalizer in the 54th minute.

Jose Mourinho was disappointed with conceding an equalizer, but admits that he was happy with the result and the away goal.

“I am happy with result,” he said. “In the second half PSG was stronger than.

“We didn’t create in the second half and we didn’t control the game in the second half like we did in the first half.”

Champions League Last 16: Man City-Barca, Chelsea-PSG

by Leave a Comment

NYON, Switzerland (Sporting Alert) — The following are the pairings for the UEFA Champions last 16 knockout phase, following the drawing on Monday.

English Premier League champions Manchester City will face Spanish giants Barcelona for the second consecutive season after finishing second in their group.

Lionel Messi and Barcelona eliminated Man City in the last 16 last season after running away 4-1 winners on aggregate after the Catalans beat the Citizens 2-0 away in the first leg and 2-1 in the return leg.

It’s unbelievable,” Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain told Sky Sports News. “We didn’t have to come because every year it’s the same.”

He added: “Every tie in that draw is the same. It’s fantastic, so we’re looking forward to it.

“We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified, beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away.”

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea will play French champions Paris Saint-Germain in a repeat of one of last year’s quarter-finals, as former Blues defender David Luiz is set to face his ex-club again.

Chelsea were beaten 3-1 in the first leg in Paris, but overcame that deficit to win 2-0 at home and win the tie on the away goal rule.

The other English Premier League side in the draw was Arsenal, and they were picked to face Monaco in what looks like the easiest of the draws for the EPL outfits.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will go up against his former club and he says it will be a dream to go against the club where he made his name.

It will be the first time Arsenal and Monaco will face off in a competitive match. The two clubs met at this year’s Emirates Cup in a preseason warmup tournament.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo and defending champions Real Madrid will play against Schalke 04, while German champions Bayern Munich, who admitted to failing last season in this competition, have been drawn to face Shakhtar Donetsk — hoping for a better year in Europe.

Bayer Leverkusen and La Liga champions Atletico Madrid will match each other, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund have been paired together, while Basle, who knocked Liverpool out in the group stages will meet FC Porto.

The ties will be played in February and March.

Champions League Last 16 Draw

Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea
Manchester City vs Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid
Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund
Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Bayern Munich
Arsenal vs Monaco
Basle vs FC Porto

How They Will Play

First legs:
17 February: Paris St-Germain v Chelsea; Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayern Munich
18 February: Schalke v Real Madrid; Basel v Porto
24 February: Manchester City v Barcelona; Juventus v Borussia Dortmund
25 February: Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid; Arsenal v Monaco

Second legs:
10 March: Real Madrid v Schalke; Porto v Basel
11 March: Chelsea v Paris St-Germain; Bayern Munich v Shakhtar Donetsk
17 March: Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen; Monaco v Arsenal
18 March: Barcelona v Manchester City; Borussia Dortmund v Juventus

Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk hit seven in Champions League

by Leave a Comment

Embed from Getty Images

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Bayern Munich and Shakhtar Donetsk both scored seven goals in their respective Champions League group wins on Tuesday night.

In Group H at the Borisov Arena, Shakhtar hammered BATE Borisov 7-0, while Bayern smashed Roma 7-1 in Group E at Stadio Olimpico.

Arjen Robben scored twice and Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller each added a goal as Bayern Munich took a 5-0 lead into the first half.

Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri then added two more goals in the second half for the visitors, who got a goal back from Gervinho.

Bayern’s crushing victory saw them moving five points clear at the top of Group E with nine points, while despite the heavy defeat, Roma stayed in second place on five points.

Also in the group, English Premier League champions Manchester City let a two-goal lead slipped and had to settled for a 2-2 draw at CSKA Moscow.

Embed from Getty Images

Sergio Aguero and James Milner gave Man City a 2-0 lead at Arena Khimki, but Seydou Doumbia struck shortly after the hour mark and Bibras Natkho grabbed an 86th minute equalizer from the penalty spot to earned a vital point for CSKA.

Shakhtar Donetsk thrashed BATE Borisov with seven unanswered goals, with striker Luiz Adriano becoming just the second player to score five goals in a Champions League game. The only other player to do this is Lionel Messi.

Adriano netted two penalties and scored four of the fives in the first half.

Alex Teixeira and Douglas Costa completed the scoring for Shakhtar Donetsk win.

Another big scoring winner on Wednesday night was Premier League leaders Chelsea, who battered Maribor 6-0 in Group G at Stamford Bridge.

Two goals from midfield player Eden Hazard setup the victory for Chelsea, who were without leading striker and top goalscorer Diego Costa.

Forwards Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, captain John Terry and an own goal by Mitja Viler, completed the scoring for Chelsea, which moved to the top of the group with seven points.

The result was the Blues’ biggest ever Champions League win, and manager Jose Mourinho was delighted with the overall performance of his team.

“We are playing well, we are confident, we are solid and we’ve found a good balance,” Mourinho said on www.chelseafc.com.

“We now have players who have adapted to play the game we were preparing last year, but we couldn’t manage to do it in a perfect way.”

He added: “Good results and confidence bring the best out of people. They are enjoying themselves.

“Tonight is a good example: with it being 3-0 at half-time there are many occasions when you stop and control the game, you are happy with the points.

“But, they kept playing their game and trying to score, they are in a good moment.”

In Group G, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain both picked up wins to stay in the hunt for the second place.

Lionel Messi, who joins Cristiano Ronaldo on 69 goals in the close battle to top the Champions League’s all-time goalscoring list, Neymar and Sandro Ramirez, grabbed the goals for Barcelona in their 3-1 victory over Ajax at Camp Nou.

Anwar El Ghazi had netted in the 88th minute to pull a goal back for Ajax and made it 2-1, but Ramirez eased all fears with Barcelona’s third goal in the fourth-minute of added time.

Paris Saint-Germain earned a hard fought 1-0 win over APOEL in Cyprus.

Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani bagged the all important lone goal for the visitors, who moved to seven points and top Group G by one point ahead of Barca (6).

Elsewhere, FC Porto beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1, while Schalke picked up an entertaining 4-3 victory over Sporting.

Champion League Results

CSKA Moscow 2 Manchester City 2 at Arena Khimki.
Chelsea 6 Maribor 0 at Stamford Bridge.
Barcelona 3 Ajax 1 at Camp Nou.
Roma 1 Bayern Munich 7 at Stadio Olimpico.
Apoel Nicosia 0 PSG 1 at S Pancypria Stadium.
BATE Borisov 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 7 at Borisov Arena.
FC Porto 2 Athletic Bilbao 1 at Estadio do Dragao.
Schalke 4 Sporting 3 at Veltins Arena.

German Super Cup Live: Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund

by Leave a Comment

(SportingAlert) — Robert Lewandowski, Xherdan Shaqiri and Thomas Müller all start for Bayern Munich in today’s German DFL-Supercup clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Live TV Channels: GOLTV USA, BT Sport 1, SuperSport 3 Africa, Sky Bundesliga HD, ZDF Sport Live Stream, Sky Go, Sky Bundesliga, ZDF. Follow Live Scores Here

Former Borussia Dortmund forward Lewandowski faces his former side for the first time since his move this summer and despite an emotional departure, the Polish forward is ready to shine for his new club.

World Cup winner Müller will join Lewandowski and Switzerland’s Shaqiri in the attack in a strong Bayern Munich starting lineup at Signal-Iduna-Park.

Javi Martínez, Manuel Neuer and Jérome Boateng all start as well, with the likes of Sebastian Rode, Juan Bernat and Pierre Hojbjerg all given a chance to shine.

Captain Philipp Lahm, as well as Mario Götze, who scored the winner goal for Germany in the FIFA World Cup final against Argentina. New summer transfer Pepe Reina starts on the bench, alongside another goalkeeper Tom Starke.

Borussia Dortmund are without a few first choice players, including the newly appointed captain Matt Hummels and midfielder Marco Reus.

However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Matthias Ginter, Marcel Schmelzer and Henrik Mkhitaryan all start the game.

WatchESPN/ESPN2: MLS All-Stars vs Bayern Munich Live

by Leave a Comment

PORTLAND, Ore. (SportingAlert) – An MLS team of All-Stars will take on German champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, with a host of World Cup stars set to be on show.

The kicks-off at 9:30 pm ET and will be broadcasting live on BT Sport 1, ESPN2, UniMas, RDS Info, TSN GO and TSN. Live online stream can also be seen using the WatchESPN App.

Bayern Munich under the guidance of manager Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich dominated the German league once again last season, but did came up short at defending their Champions League title.

Guardiola will be using the game to take a look at some of his returning World Cup starts, including Thomas Müller, Mario Götze, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Jérôme Boateng and Philipp Lahm, who were all members of the title winning Germany team.

Meanwhile, the 2014 MLS All-Stars team will include the likes of Omar Gonzalez, Kyle Beckerman, Clint Dempsey, Graham Zusi and Michael Bradley, who were all members of the United States World Cup team in Brazil this summer.

Included in the All-Stars team are veterans Robbie Keane, Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Jermain Defoe, in addition to Erick Torres, Maurice Edu and Diego Valeri.

Ahead of the game several players from the MLS All-Stars squad expressed delight at facing arguably the best time in club football at the moment.

“The reputation they have in Germany and across Europe is one of success and winning championships,” American and Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley said.

“You look at their history in the Bundesliga and playing in Champions League and they’re a team that’s consistently fighting to win.”

Former Barcelona forward and New York Red Bull Bulls star Thierry Henry added: “I know how hard it is to stay at the top and win and they’ve been doing it forever.

“So you have to give them their credit and it’s going to be a hell of a challenge for us to contain that team and win the game with the little amount of time we have together.”

Joachim Low named 30-man World Cup preliminary squad

by Leave a Comment

Germany coach Joachim Low. PHOTO Via FIFA.com

MUNICH (Sporting Alert) — Joachim Low has named a strong 30 player preliminary squad to prepare for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but there was no place for Fiorentina striker Mario Gomez.

Gomez, a former Bayern Munich star player, has just recovered from a knee injury and Low didn’t want to take a gamble on picking the forward.

At the sometime, there was a call up for veteran striker Miroslav Klose, who himself has also had his own share of injuries this season, as well as Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, who missed most of the season because of a knee injury.

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil and forward Lukas Podolski, midfielder Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke’s winger Julian Draxler are also in the squad.

Low said he will reduce his squad to “25 to 26 players” after the German DFB Pokal final on Saturday and a friendly against Poland on Tuesday.

He will then select his final 23-member squad for the World Cup at the end of the month.

Germany squad

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover).

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm, Kevin Grosskreutz (both Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund).

Midfielders: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Schalke), Andre Hahn (Augsburg), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Max Meyer (Schalke), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg).

Forwards: Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Miroslav Klose (Lazio).

Watch Bayern Munich v Real Madrid Live Streaming 2nd Leg

by Leave a Comment

MUNICH (Sporting Alert) — Defending champions Bayern Munich will look to overturn a 1-0 deficit when they take on Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.

Watch Bayern Munich v Real Madrid Live Streaming on FoxSoccer2Go | Follow Live Scores and Updates

After resting at the weekend in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Werder Bremen, captain Philipp Lahm and winger Arjen Robben both return for Bayern Munich as Pep Guardiola freshen up his starting lineup.

Starting also for the German champions are Toni Kroos and Mario Mandzukic, with Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the team as well.

Meanwhile, for Real Madrid Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo both start and will be joined by forward Karim Benzema in the lethal attack.

Angel di Maria, Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and the fit again Pepe all start as well.

Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Alaba, Dante, Boateng, Lahm, Ribery, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben, Mandzukic
Subs: Raeder, Van Buyten, Javi Martinez, Rafinha, Pizarro, Gotze, Hojbjerg

Real Madrid: Casillas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Alonso, Modric, Bale, Di Maria, Ronaldo, Benzema
Subs: Diego Lopez, Varane, Marcelo, Casemiro, Morata, Isco, Illarramendi

Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal)

Ronaldo starts, Bale on the bench: Real Madrid v Bayern Munich Live

by Leave a Comment

MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Cristiano Ronaldo starts for Real Madrid in tonight’s Champions League semi-final first-leg clash with holders Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Watch Live Streaming on FoxSoccer2Go

The Portugal forward was a doubt to play in the game because of a hamstring injury and manager Carlo Ancelotti said he would not play unless he was fit enough.

However, Gareth Bale, who is being bothered by the flu, is only on the bench, as Ronaldo lines up alongside Karim Benzema and the on form Angel Di María.

Isco has been handed the nod to start, with Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso.

Iker Casillas will start in goal, with Diego López on the bench.

For Bayern Munich, meanwhile, start a strong team that includes David Alaba, Toni Kroos, and Arjen Robben.

Manuel Neuer missed the weekend game with a calf injury is in the starting team as well.

Real Madrid: Casillas, Pepe, Ramos, Fábio Coentrão, Carvajal, Xabi Alonso, Modrić, Di María, Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema. Subs: Diego López, Varane, Marcelo, Bale, Casemiro, Illarramendi, Morata.

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Dante, Rafinha, Boateng, Lahm, Alaba, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben, Ribery, Mandzukic.
Subs: Raeder, Zingerle, Martinez, Pizarro, Gotze, Weiser, Muller.

Real Madrid face Bayern Munich; Chelsea v Atletico: CL semis draw

by Leave a Comment

MADRID, Germany (Sporting Alert) — Heavy hitters Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich, while Chelsea will take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

The UEFA Champions League draw was made on Friday.

Many had visioned a Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich final, but a semi-final matchup between the two sides will provide the same kind of interest for football fans.

The defending champions and five-times winners Bayern Munich, beatManchester United over the two legs in the quarter-final, while Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund in their clash.

After knocking of PSG in the home and away battle, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side has been paired against an on form Atletico Madrid side, knocked out fellow Spanish La Liga outfits Barcelona in the quarter-finals this week.

The first legs of the semi-finals will take place on April 22 and 23, with the return legs taking place the following week.

The winners of each semis will face-off in the final, which will be played on Saturday May 24 in Lisbon.