Barça draw Arsenal in Champions League

[many a good man]

FC Barcelona will play Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and should they win, they will then face the winner of the tie between Inter and CSKA Moscow in the semi finals.

The draw in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday paired the Blaugrana with the English side and gave Pep Guardiola's team home advantage as the first leg will be played at The Emirates at the end of March , with the second game at Camp Nou.

Barça are the only representatives from the Spanish League and will take on Arséne Wenger's Gunners' team in a repeat of the historic 2006 final in Paris.

In the semi –final, FC Barcelona will take on either Inter or CSKA Moscow should they beat Arsenal and if they then reach the final in Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu stadium, the Catalan side would be considered to be the away team.

Manchester United travel to Germany to play Bayern Munich first, while Olympique Lyonnais and Girondins Bordeaux will meet in an all-French tie in the other quarter finals.

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada09-10/03/19/n100319109927.html

[Upton]

1. That figures...

meanwhile Man U gets to stroll through by drawing Bayern and then the winner of Lyon/Bordeaux...

I've always wondered about these CL draws. For example, the way Mourinho's Inter just "happened" to draw Chelsea last round is way too coincidental for me..

[Rambis]

2. That will be a corker

I have never been under the illusion that there is not manipulation of the draw. This just confirms what I already know because it happens time and time again. Slur Alex got what he wanted again-

[many a good man]

3. More matchups

Quarter-final draw

Lyon v Bordeaux

Bayern Munich v Manchester United

Arsenal v Barcelona

Internazionale v CSKA Moscow

First leg 30 and 31 March; second leg 6 and 7 April.

Semi-final draw

Bayern Munich or Manchester United v Lyon or Bordeaux

Internazionale or CSKA Moscow v Arsenal or Barcelona

First leg 20 and 21 April; second leg 27 and 28 April.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/19/arsenal-barcelona-champions-league-draw

[redqueen]

4. 21 minutes.

21 minutes to get a hat trick.

Legend.

[redqueen]

5. The better team won.

Well... the better player, anyway. That was The Lionel Messi Show.

[many a good man]

6. Replay on FSC at 8pm ET tonite

La Pulga certainly kicked ARS today with his super hat trick. He's a once-in-a-generation talent. You can see highlights here: http://rutube.ru/tracks/3114252.html?v=164cc3f408c28f4f933f80803e92edae&autoStart=true&bmstart=0 On to Inter for the semi-finals.

[redqueen]

7. A once-in-a-generation talent, indeed.

I hope Maradona can put him to good use in the World Cup. Be a shame to see him wasted.

[Blue_Tires]

8. Not a big fan of Argentina or Barca, BUT

That was just incredible to watch...Messi fuckin' took folks to school...How does Inter try to stop THAT?