The Champions League is part of Real Madrid's folklore and it is the nature of the Spanish side to always set their sights on Europe's most prestigious club tournament, having won it more times than any other team, winger Gareth Bale has said.
The three Premier League and three La Liga clubs in the last eight avoided each other, with Manchester City up against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool to face Portuguese side Benfica.
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Ousmane Dembele struck early and Lionel Messi converted a late penalty as Barcelona won 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is likely to miss both legs of the Champions League semi-final because of a thigh muscle tear.
It compounded a woeful few months for the club as coach Julen Lopetegui came and went before former player Santiago Solari replaced him in November. They sat sixth in La Liga and appeared a team in decline, sorely missing forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus last summer.
All the ingredients are in place for a classic Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday when millions of fans around the world will settle down to dine on what should be a rare footballing feast.
Juventus returned to the Champions League proper for the first time in three seasons after a 1-1 draw at Artmedia Bratislava gave the Italians a 5-1 aggregate win.
Champions League records from 1992-2010 ahead of the 2010-2011 season.
Having seen the domestic league and cup double go to Porto last term, Benfica missed a string of chances against PAOK in a one-sided first half as they enjoyed 72% of possession.
While Pep Guardiola has brought two Premier League titles, smashed records and produced some of the most glorious football the club's fans have ever seen -- European success remains elusive to his team.
Last-minute starter Adrian Ramos scored a first-half header to give Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory over Sporting on Wednesday and earn a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two Group F matches to spare.
Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari put Ghana in the Champions League spotlight as they scored the goals which gave AC Milan a shock 2-0 win over Barcelona on Wednesday.
Messi's first act as Barcelona captain was to tell the club's fans at a pre-season friendly in August against Boca Juniors that he and his teammates "will do everything possible so that beautiful and desired cup returns here to the Nou Camp".
The All-India Football Federation defended its handing over the I-League 'trophy' to Inter Kashi on Sunday, saying it did so after "due legal consultation" and as per decisions given by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and Swiss Federal Tribunal.
New Barcelona signing Arturo Vidal says he is stepping up a level in his career and is intent on winning the Champions League three times over his three-year deal.
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Titleholders Barcelona were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella has suggested that the only way his side will be able to stop Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg will be to tie the Chilean up with a rope.
Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey cracked a sparkling half-century each as Chennai Super Kings were crowned the Champions League Twenty20 winners with their eight-wicket victory over Warriors in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur and Schalke 04 belied their reputations to knock seven-times winners AC Milan and twice finalists Valencia out of the Champions League on Wednesday with performances that went entirely against type.
Juventus have sacked head coach Igor Tudor after failing to win their last eight matches in all competitions, the Serie A club said on Monday.
The centralised semi-finals and the final are scheduled for May 20 to 23, next year.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has a midfield conundrum and his Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochettino must decide whether Harry Kane is ready for action as both bosses face selection dilemmas for Saturday's Champions League final.
Tottenham Hotspur say next week's clash with Monaco will be played in front of the highest attendance for a Champions League game in England, with more than 80,000 tickets sold.
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will miss the Premier League champions' opening Champions League Group C match against Benfica in Lisbon on Wednesday, the club said on Tuesday.
Arsenal and Barcelona each got a taste of their own medicine on Wednesday but it was the Londoners who recovered from what looked a terminal condition to register a remarkable 2-1 comeback win in the Champions League last-16 first leg.
Second-string Liverpool were thumped 3-0 by Crystal Palace as Ismaila Sarr struck twice for the visitors in the League Cup on Wednesday, booking the London side's spot in the quarter-finals and piling more misery on Arne Slot's struggling side.
Some media commentators in England have called for the all-English final to be moved to the UK.
Holders Real Madrid will start their attempt to win a record third straight Champions League title in a group with Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Apoel Nicosia after Thursday's draw.
Barcelona's early season form has been on a par with their habitually high standards but as they prepare to visit Celtic in the Champions League there remains a question mark hanging over their makeshift defence.
Four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam were knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round on Tuesday after a dramatic 3-2 defeat at home to unsung Rapid Vienna.
Manchester United's early exit from the Champions League last season cost the English club almost 17 million euros in payments from UEFA compared with the previous year, figures released on Friday showed.
Gautam Gambhir leads one of the star-studded line-ups in the Champions League Twenty20. The Delhi Daredevils' line-up boasts of the two most dangerous batsmen in world cricket -- Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virender Sehwag.
The early strike set the tone for the remainder of the half as the Indian side dictated the tempo. Bam Khatoon's Sara Didar and Fatemeh Geraeli made some long-range efforts with no luck.
Clubs from Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova and Macedonia on Tuesday became the first four to progress from 11 Champions League first qualifying round ties.
The UEFA has ruled out changing its Champions League suspension rules regarding yellow cards for at least three years and has no intention of bringing them in line with the rules used in the European Championship, officials have told players' representatives.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale said on Wednesday he has an extra incentive to reach a third Champions League final in four years because the title game will be played in his hometown of Cardiff. "This is the reason I came to Madrid - to play in the Champions League, to win the Champions League," the 27-year-old Bale said in an interview with UEFA.com. "To have the Champions League final in my home town is an even bigger motivation," he said.
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