UEFA Europa League & Champions League Semi-Final Draw Announced

championsleague Barcelona and Real Madrid could still play out a mouth watering El Classico Champions League final if they can each navigate a way past Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively. The La Liga pair were drawn against each of the Bundesliga sides with the games to be played on 23rd and 24th April, with the return legs on 30th April and 1st May. Meanwhile, in the Europa League, Chelsea will travel to Switzerland for the first leg of their semi-final clash against Basel. The Swiss knocked out the Blue's London rivals Tottenham on penalties last night and will pose a stiff test to Rafael Benitez' men. Turkish side Fenerbahce face Portuguese opponents Benfica in the competition's second semi-final, and those games will be played on Thursday 25th April with the returns the following week. Chelsea are the only British side left in Europe and could reach their second European final in as many years having won last season's Champions League. They dispatched Rubin Kazan last night while their opponents Basel prevailed over ten-man Tottenham in a dramatic penalty shootout. As for the Champions League, Real Madrid's hopes of securing "La Decima" - what would be a record tenth European win - remain alive as they were kept apart from fierce rivals Barcelona. They will be wary of Borussia Dortmund, however, who beat them in the Champions League group stages 2-1 to qualify ahead of them as winners of the so called "Group of Death". Bayern Munich, who have already been crowned German champions with a record six games to spare, will also give Barcelona cause for concern, and the Bavarian's eliminated Spanish opposition in the form of Madrid to reach last season's Champions League final. The draw in full: Champions League Semi-Finals Bayern Munich v Barcelona Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid Europa League Semi-Finals Fenerbahce v Benfica Basel v Chelsea
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Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.