European heavyweights collide as Real Madrid takes on Bayern

Mallorca's David Lopez clears the ball in front of Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe during a La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Real Madrid in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (AP )

MADRID, April 6 (AP): Football at its very best.

That was Arne Slot's memory of Liverpool’s richly entertaining meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last season.

OK, Liverpool ultimately went out, beaten at Anfield in a round-of-16 penalty shootout by the team that would go on to win the competition for the first time, but Slot loved the way his side played and still maintains it was "the best game I’ve managed in my career.”

They meet again almost 12 months on, with Liverpool - and Slot - in a very different place.

Indeed, the Dutch coach appears to be fighting for his job heading into the upcoming quarterfinal doubleheader with the European champions that starts with the first leg in Paris on Wednesday.

A 4-0 loss at Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday was Liverpool's latest poor result of a season that initially began with so much hope after the club's record summer splurge of $570 million on new players on the back of cruising to the Premier League title.

There are three other quarterfinal matchups: Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich, Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, and Sporting Lisbon vs. Arsenal.

It's one of the more unlikely Champions League facts: Madrid and Munich - winners of the title a combined 21 times - still haven't met in the final.

They won't this season, either.

The two European heavyweights are, however, meeting in the knockout stage for the sixth time in the past 14 seasons - and it has been a one-sided rivalry.

Madrid, the record 15-time champion, has won all five of its two-legged matchups with Bayern since the 2011-12 season: once in the last 16, once in the quarterfinals, and three times in the semifinals, most recently in 2024.

Bayern might never have a better chance to end that miserable run, given the German champions are unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions. Star striker Harry Kane is expected to be available, despite missing Saturday's win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga with a minor ankle issue sustained in national team training last week.

Madrid is coming off a comfortable round-of-16 win over Man City, but, more recently, a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its Spanish league title hopes.

The players of Spanish rivals Barcelona and Atletico might be sick of the sight of each other by next week's second leg.

That's because their upcoming Champions League doubleheader will complete a barrage of five meetings between the teams in the space of two months, culminating in three matches in 10 days.