Europa League Quarter-final draw: Jurgen Klopp returns to Dortmund with Liverpool
The UEFA Europa League draw took place at the headquarters of the European governing body in Nyon, Switzerland. With Pedro Pinto and Giorgio Marchetti hosting proceedings in the absence of newly-elected FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the draw was picked out by special guest Alexander Frei, FC Basel legend.
The first leg of fixtures will take place on the 7th of April while the return leg will take place on the 14th.
Rules
The quarter-final stage sees an open draw with none of the teams seeded like the Round of 16. Teams from the same country’s league can also be drawn against each other which was not the case until the Round of 16. The team that is drawn first will play the first leg at home.
UEFA Europa League Quarterfinal draw
Frei drew Portuguese side Sporting club de Braga first out of the pot, as they faced off against Ukranian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, who had beat them twice in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League. Villarreal CF and Czech side FC Sparta Prague were drawn together for the first time in Europe in the next fixture drawn.
As the third fixture was drawn, it presented a Spanish derby as La Liga sides Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla were drawn together to audible gasps from the assembled officials. It wasn’t this fixure that was responsible, as the undoubted clash of the quarterfinals came as Liverpool were drawn with Borussia Dortmund, a return for Jurgen Klopp to his former side.
Here is the complete draw:
| First Leg at Home | First Leg Away | |
|---|---|---|
| SC Braga | vs | FC Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Villarreal CF | vs | FC Sparta Prague |
| Athletic Bilbao | vs | Sevilla FC |
| Borussia Dortmund | vs | Liverpool FC |