The identity of the final eight teams left in this season’s Champions League is now known. The draw for the quarter-finals took place simultaneously with the selection of the last 16 matchups last month. After the round of 16 concluded, the last eight fixtures were determined, along with the drafting of the semi-finals, as the remaining knockout bracket was fully mapped out. Paris Saint-Germain, currently the top-performing team in Europe, made a significant impact in the last 16 stage. They convincingly eliminated Liverpool from the competition after displaying superior performance over two legs. Their victory over Liverpool could easily be mistaken for a matchup in a later stage of the tournament due to the quality of play. At present, Aston Villa poses a challenge to Paris Saint-Germain’s quest for only their fourth semi-final appearance in three decades. However, for Aston Villa, this presents a significant opportunity. The champions of 1982 are back in this stage of the competition for the first time since their title defense was cut short by Juventus the following season. Impressively, Aston Villa has shown remarkable performance so far and is led by UEFA knockout expert Unai Emery. Arsenal’s quarter-final place was assured at the halfway stage of their last 16 tie against PSV Eindhoven, 7-1 up on aggregate after only one leg had been played. The Gunners have seen their Premier League title challenge go up in smoke after a few recent domestic wobbles, but are determned to go deep in Europe. Real Madrid is the ultimate challenge, however. There was nothing to separate the holders and city rivals Atletico over 210 minutes, with the tie that has twice been the final in recent memory, going all the way to penalties. Barcelona feel truly back this season. The Catalans, guided by 2020 winner Hansi Flick, have only been beyond the quarter-finals once since their last triumph in 2015, a full decade ago. Benfica were ultimately no match in the last 16 for a team spearheaded by Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and surprise but justified Ballon d’Or contender Raphinha. Next up is 2024 runners-up Borussia Dortmund, not having a good Bundesliga season, but conquerors of Sporting CP and Lille in the knockout rounds so far an in possession of the competition’s second top scorer this season: Serhou Guirassy (10 goals). Last but not least is a repeat of the 2010 final, when Jose Mourinho’s Inter completed a historic treble by besting Louis van Gaal’s Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu. Bayern narrowly avoided extra-time with a knockout play-off wobble against Celtic, but proved much more convincing winners, 5-0 on aggregate, over domestic rivals Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16. Inter, losing finalists in 2023, were pretty comfortable 4-1 aggregate winners over Feyenoord. This season’s Champions League final is set for Saturday 31 May at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Quarter-final ties will be played on 8/9 and 15/16 April. Semi-final ties will be played on 29/30 April and 6/7 May.