National Post (National Edition)

ManUdraws Barcelonai­n Champions’ quarter-finals

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NYON, SWITZERLAN­D • A new generation of Manchester United players will have to get through Barcelona to win the Champions League.

And Lionel Messi will still be there.

United was drawn Friday to face Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfin­als, hosting the first leg on April 10.

Also Friday, Tottenham was drawn to face Manchester City in an all-English pairing, Liverpool will face Porto, and Ajax will meet Juventus. The first legs will be played on April 9-10, with the return games on April 16-17.

Messi scored the last two times the teams met — in the Champions League finals of 2009 and 2011. The 31-yearold Barcelona forward is also the leading scorer in this season’s competitio­n with eight goals. Barcelona defender Gerard Pique also played in the two finals against Man United, where he spent four years early in his career.

“I’m coming back to my second home. @ ManUtd,” Pique wrote on Twitter.

Not all the memories are bad for Man U, however.

In the 2008 semifinals, United beat Barcelona before winning its third title. And it was at Camp Nou that current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the late, title- winning goal in 1999, against Bayern Munich.

Tottenham will host Man City in the first leg on April 9, which could be played at Wembley Stadium or at the north London club’s soonto-be-completed new arena.

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