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Bayern Munich will play Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinal
Premier League side must do without Van Persie, after injury rules him out for 4-6 weeks
Four-time champions Barcelona face Atletico Madrid in an all-Spanish tie
Real Madrid drawn against Borussia Dortmund, while Chelsea face PSG
The two teams contested one of the most dramatic matches in football history, and now Bayern Munich and Manchester United will meet again in the quarterfinals of the European Champions League.
Bayern are looking to become the first team to defend the Champions League title, while United’s task has been made harder by the loss of Robin van Persie for the tie.
The Dutchman, whose hat-trick enabled the Reds to come from two goals down to knock out Olympiakos, suffered a late injury on Wednesday that will keep him out of both legs of the quarterfinal.
“Following further investigation, Robin van Persie has a sprained knee, which will keep him out for around four to six weeks,” the club announced on its Twitter page on Friday.
The second leg takes place in Munich on April 9, leaving the 30-year-old striker to concentrate his return on the closing stages of the Premier League season and June’s World Cup in Brazil.
His absence is set to boost Pep Guardiola as his all-conquering squad attempts to reassert its dominance at home and abroad.
The five-time European champions are on the verge of wrapping up the German title and will wrap up a Bundesliga triumph this weekend if they win – and Borussia Dortmund and Schalke fail to.
But to stand any chance of retaining their continental title, Bayern must beat the team that inflicted one of the German club’s most painful defeats in the final of this competition 15 years ago.
United won the Champions League in 1999 by scoring two goals in injury time to beat Bayern 2-1, but such halcyon days are in stark contrast to the club’s current predicament.
Manager David Moyes has struggled to get the best out of his team since replacing Alex Ferguson, the Scottish coach who masterminded United’s win in 1999 and also its Champions League final victory over Chelsea in 2008 as well guiding the club to 13 English league titles before retiring in May 2013.
Moyes’ team sits seventh in the Premier League, quite a fall from grace for a team that lifted the English championship last season.
Read: Finally David Moyes can smile…
Friday’s draw in Switzerland also threw together Spanish title rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Barca’s modern Champions League history is formidable, with the Catalans lifting European football’s most prestigious trophy in 2006, 2009 and 2011. Barca won their first European Cup in 1992.
But in the Spanish league Barca sit in third position, behind second-placed Atletico.
Diego Simeone’s team has caught the eye this season, disrupting the Spanish duopoly of Barca and Real Madrid through exciting play and the goals of striker Diego Costa.
For Real it’s a rerun of last season’s semifinal against Borussia Dortmund.
The German team stunned Real by destroying the nine-time European champions 4-1 in the first leg. Dortmund prevailed 4-3 on aggregate before losing to Bayern in the final.
Former Real coach Jose Mourinho will pit his Chelsea team against Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain. Mourinho is looking to win the tournament with a third club after triumphs with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010.
PSG will be relying on the mercurial talents of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored 10 goals in seven Champions League appearances this season, while former Chelsea defender Alex also plays for the Parisian club.
European Champions League quarterfinal draw:
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea
Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich