Milan and Bayern to meet again

AC Milan have been paired with fellow European heavyweights FC Bayern München in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after today's draw in Athens, host city of this season's final.

Exciting encounters
Milan and Bayern, who have ten continental crowns between them, met most recently in the first knockout round of last year's competition when the Italian side won 5-2 on aggregate. The other matches see PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool FC pitted together once more following their group-stage games in the autumn, while AS Roma face Manchester United FC, and Chelsea FC take on Valencia CF. The ties will be played on 3/4 April and 10/11 April.

Final route
Today's proceedings at the Megaron International Conference Centre in the Greek capital featured a straight draw involving all eight clubs without seedings or country protection. As well as the quarter-finals, the draw was also made for the semi-finals, meaning teams know who they will meet over two legs on 24/25 April and 1/2 May should they progress. If Chelsea and Liverpool advance, they will take part in a repeat of the 2005 all-English semi-final won by the Reds.

Trophy handover
The final will be staged at the Olympic Stadium on 23 May and Athens is already looking forward to the event. The city's mayor, Nikitas Kaklamanis, today received the European Champion Clubs' Cup from UEFA President Michel Platini after FC Barcelona's Ludovic Giuly had symbolically handed the trophy back to UEFA.