Mar 20, 2009, 13:33 GMT
Nyon, Switzerland - Holders Manchester United will aim to erase the ghosts of the past when they were pitted against Porto in the Champions League quarter-final draw made Friday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
German champions Bayern Munich face a much sterner task in the form of Spanish Liga leaders Barcelona while last year's finalists Chelsea take on English Premier League rivals Liverpool for the fifth season in succession in the elite event.
The other quarter-final tie sees Arsenal and Spain's Villarreal meet in a repeat of the 2006 semi-final, when the Gunners prevailed before going on to lose to Barca in the final.
United last met Porto in the knockout stages of the Champions League in 2004, when the Portuguese side, which was then managed by Jose Mourinho, won 3-2 on aggregate on their way to the title.
However, this time around, United will be expected to prove too strong for the Portuguese champions.
'It's a good draw for us,' United club secretary Ken Ramsden admitted to Sky Sports.
However, United coach Alex Ferguson had said before the draw that he did not believe that there was a draw that was easy. 'They say the two weak teams are Villarreal and Porto. Where are the easy draws? I don't think there is an easy draw.'
Porto's International Relations Director Vitor Baia, who was in the Porto side that beat Manchester United in 2004, said they were looking forward to the tie.
'We are playing the European champions. That says enough. But we will fight for our chances and try to advance. We have our possibilities.'
Munich coach Juergen Klinsmann, on the other hand, was more sanguine after his side were given probably the toughest draw possible in the form of Barca.
'That is one tough draw, quite exceptional,' said the Bayern coach.
But Munich have not lost in all four previous matches against Barca in Europe and Klinsmann was a Munich striker when the Germans prevailed in the 1996 UEFA Cup semi-finals en route to the title.
Liverpool are in a strong vein of form after thumping United 4-1 and knocking Real Madrid out of the Champions League so, not surprisingly, club CEO Rick Parry was bullish about the Reds' chances against Chelsea this time around, despite losing to them in last year's semi-finals.
'I dont think it's about historical form, it's about form at this stage of the season. We are coming into form at the moment,' he said.
Liverpool beat Chelsea in the 2005 and 2007 semi-finals, Chelsea prevailed in last season's semis while two 2006 group games ended 0-0.
Chelsea secretary David Barnard said that there is not much that they need to know about Liverpool, which his club did not already know.
'We probably know the inside measurements of Rafa Benitez's trousers, that is how well we know them.'
He said that it should help his club being away in the first leg. 'On all three occasions that we met them in the semi-finals, the team that was home in the return leg went through.
'I am also very happy that there is no other Premier League club in the semi-finals, if we get through.'
The first-leg matches take place on April 7 and 8 with the return legs a week later on April 14 and 15, but Parry reiterated that Liverpool did not want to play a match on April 15, the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
'We do not want to play on the 15th, that is massively important. It's important to Liverpool football club and every fan,' he said.
UEFA boss Michel Platini said earlier in the week that UEFA will do its best to grant Liverpool's request.
An all-English semi-final looms as if United progress at the expense of Porto then Villarreal or Arsenal await Sir Alex Ferguson's side. Barca or Bayern face Liverpool or Chelsea in the other semi-final.
First-leg matches for the semi-final take place on April 28 and April 29 with the return legs on May 5 and 6.
The final will be played on Wednesday, May 27 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
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