Barca, Bayern in marquee tie
Liverpool and Chelsea will meet again in the Champions League quarterfinal in a tie that has become an almost annual event in European football, and Rafael Benitez's team will be spared a fixture on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
Arsenal will play Villarreal, whom they beat in the semifinals in 2006 before losing to Barcelona in the final. Arsene Wenger's team travel to Spain for the first match.
The four Premier League clubs have avoided the second-favourites Barcelona, who were drawn against the German champions Bayern Munich, with the first leg at Camp Nou.
Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann feels his side have drawn the best team in Europe. The former Germany boss told the club's official website: "This is a huge incentive for all of us, to mix it with the best team in Europe at the moment.
"That is something really special. Barcelona are a tough nut to crack. But everything is doable. That is what we believe. We don't need to hide."
The draw for the semifinals, made at the same time, paved the way for a possible repeat of last year's final as well as a Manchester United-Liverpool showpiece. The winners of United's tie with Porto will play Villarreal or Arsenal while Chelsea or Liverpool will have to find a way past Barca or Bayern.
Liverpool and Chelsea meet in the competition for the fifth consecutive season and for the fourth time in the knockout stages, Liverpool having won in semifinals in 2005 and 2007 before Chelsea won 4-3 on aggregate last year.
This time around they will renew acquaintance at Anfield on Wednesday 8 April with the return leg the following Tuesday, allaying fears that Liverpool would have to play a match on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. "There's no more important issue than this," said Rick Parry, the club's chief executive, before the dates were confirmed.
The defending champions Manchester United open at Old Trafford against Porto, who under Jose Mourinho knocked them out of the Champions League in 2004 and manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his contentment at the tie. "This is a good draw for us, we've met Porto before and obviously we respect any Portuguese team," he said. "You sometimes wonder if being at home first is a good or a bad thing but I think in this modern-day competition there is no indication of what is better."
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday 7 April
Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v Porto
Wednesday 8 April
Liverpool v Chelsea
Barcelona v Bayern Munich
Tuesday 14 April
Bayern Munich v Barcelona
Chelsea v Liverpool
Wednesday 15 April
Arsenal v Villarreal
Porto v Manchester United
SEMIFINALS
Manchester United or Porto v Villarreal or Arsenal
Barcelona or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Chelsea
Semifinal ties to be played on 28-29 April and 5-6 May
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