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The business end of the Champions League is finally here. The stage is all set for the eight remaining teams to duke it out to see who will lift the trophy come June.
The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League took place on Friday. Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Barcelona, Ajax, Juventus, and Porto are the teams in the last-eight stage of the competition.
Notably, no German team made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005-06. On the other hand, four English teams are in the last eight for the first time in a decade. Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands all have one team each.
Here is a look at the eight remaining teams in the Champions League quarter-finals:
#1 Liverpool F.C. (England)
The Reds have had quite a daunting run to the Champions League quarter-finals. Drawn with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, and Red Star Belgrade, Liverpool were definitely in a tough group. The team from Merseyside began the competition in the best possible way by beating PSG at Anfield. Away form was a big problem for Jurgen Klopp's men as they lost all three matches on the road in group stages. Only a win on matchday 6 against Napoli put them through to the Round of 16.
In the Round of 16, Liverpool faced German champions Bayern Munich. The first leg ended in a goalless draw at Anfield. In the second leg, Liverpool completely dominated a lacklustre Munich side to win 3-1 on the night and on aggregate.
Liverpool's quarter-final opponents are FC Porto.
#2 FC Porto (Portugal)
FC Porto had an easy run in the group stages. The Portuguese side were drawn alongside Schalke 04, Lokomotiv Moscow and Galatasaray. A draw in the first match against Schalke proved to be the only blemish on a near-perfect run for Porto. They comfortably topped the group and faced AS Roma in the Round of 16.
In the first leg of the Round of 16 tie, Roma beat them 2-1 in Italy. In the second leg, Porto won 3-1 to progress to the last eight with an aggregate of 4-3.
FC Porto's quarter-final opponents are Liverpool.
#3 Manchester United (England)
The Red Devils were grouped alongside Juventus, Valencia, and Young Boys. Manchester United began the tournament with a comprehensive 3-0 away win in Switzerland. The next two matches proved to be difficult as they drew against Valencia and lost against Juventus at Old Trafford. Their highlight in the group stages came when they beat Juventus in Turin. They would go on to win the remaining two matches and finish runners-up to Juventus. Their opponent in the Round of 16 were Paris-Saint Germain.
In the first leg of the tie, PSG completely dominated United at Old Trafford and won 2-0. No one gave them a chance to progress through. But in true United fashion, they made the comeback in Paris and won 3-1 on the night to progress on away goals after a 3-3 tie in aggregate.
Manchester United's quarter-final opponents are FC Barcelona.
#4 FC Barcelona (Spain)
The Catalan giants were in a group that comprised of Tottenham Hotspurs, Inter Milan, and PSV Eindhoven. Barcelona had a relatively straightforward run in the group stages, winning four matches and drawing two. They faced Olympique Lyonnais in the Round of 16.
The first leg of the Round of 16 ended in a 0-0 draw at Lyon. In the second leg, Barcelona completely dominated the French team to win by 5-1 on the night and on aggregate.
Barcelona's quarter-final opponents are Manchester United.
#5 Tottenham Hotspurs (England)
Tottenham were in the same group as Barcelona, Inter Milan, and PSV Eindhoven. They had the worst possible start to the competition, losing 2-1 to Inter in Milan and 4-2 at home to Barcelona and only drawing against PSV 2-2 away. With one point after three games, their destiny was not in their own hands. Tottenham beat PSV 2-1 and Inter Milan 1-0 at Wembley. Tottenham Hotspur's last group match was against Barcelona at Camp Nou. They needed an 85th-minute equalizer to progress through to the next round. Borussia Dortmund awaited Spurs in the Round of 16.
In the first leg of the Round of 16, Tottenham looked a different side and brushed aside Dortmund 3-0 at home. In the second leg at Signal Iduna Park, Tottenham won 1-0 to progress by an aggregate of 4-0
Tottenham's quarter-final opponents are Manchester City.
#6 Manchester City (England)
The English side were grouped alongside Olympique Lyonnais, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Hoffenheim. They began the group stage on a losing note against Lyon. In fact, they were unable to beat Lyon in both the legs, drawing in the other fixture. Other than that, Manchester City had a largely untroubled run to the Round of 16. Their Round of 16 opponents were Schalke 04.
In the first leg of the round of 16, City won by a score of 3-2 away. In the second leg, they run riot to completely outclass the German side by 7-0 to progress 10-2 on aggregate.
Manchester City's quarter-final opponents are Tottenham Hotspurs.
#7 AFC Ajax (The Netherlands)
The Dutch side have been the surprise package in this year's Champions League. Grouped together with Bayern Munich, Benfica, and AEK Athens, Ajax had an unbeaten run in the group stages and eventually finished second in the group. They drew both times with Munich, won both games against AEK and won one and drew one against Benfica. A stern challenge in the form of Real Madrid awaited Ajax in the Round of 16.
In the first leg of the Round of 16 tie, Real Madrid edged past the Dutch side 2-1 in Amsterdam. With 2 away goals in the bag, Madrid were considered to be the favourites to progress. But the biggest shock came in the second leg when Ajax outclassed and outmaneuvered the 13-time winners to win 4-1 at the Santiago Bernebau and progress 5-3 on aggregate.
Ajax's quarter-final opponents are Juventus.
#8 Juventus F.C. (Italy)
The Old Lady had an easy run in the group stages, which comprised of Manchester United, Valencia and Young Boys. They won four matches and lost two to top the group. The losses came against Manchester United at home and away to Young Boys. Their Round of 16 opponents were Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
In the first leg, Juventus suffered a 2-0 loss against Atletico at Wanda Metropolitano. In the second leg, Juventus, courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick, beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 in Turin to progress 3-2 on aggregate.
Juventus' quarter-final opponents are Ajax.
