• Juventus gets Real Madrid in CL semifinals • Italian clubs kept apart in Europa last 4
NYON, Switzerland — Barcelona will play Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals, pairing coach Pep Guardiola's past and current teams. Guardiola, who spent four trophy-filled years at Barcelona, took over at Bayern in 2013. In the other semifinal, defending champion Real Madrid will face Juventus, with the Italian champion playing at home first. “Everyone understands how special this game is for me, for Thiago and my staff,” Guardiola told reporters. “Barcelona was our life. When you are in a semifinal then you will always face a big team. What can I say? Barcelona is my home.” “It is a special game because Pep is on the other side. It will be the first time that he has faced his Barca, it will be the first time that I have faced him as a coach which will be special for me, and I am sure it will be for my players,” said Luis Enrique, who did not seem too concerned about having to play the first leg at home. The four teams have combined to win the European Cup or Champions League 21 times, with 16 runner-up finishes, in the competition's 60-year history. The first legs will be played on May 5-6, with the return matches on May 12-13. The final will be played on June 6 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. In the Europa League semifinals, defending champion Sevilla has been drawn to play Fiorentina. The Spanish club can become the first to win a fourth UEFA Cup or Europa League title. In the other semifinal, Napoli will be at home first against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. The first legs will be played on May 7, with the return matches on May 14. The final will be played on May 27 at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland. For the first time, the Europa League winner will also earn a place in the group stage of the Champions League next season. On Thursday, Sevilla's Kevin Gameiro scored a late equalizer to snatch a 2-2 draw at Zenit St Petersburg that sent the Europa League holder into the semifinals with a 4-3 aggregate win. Fiorentina also went through by beating 10-man Dynamo Kiev 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate win while Napoli completed a 6-3 win over two legs against VfL Wolfsburg after a 2-2 draw in Italy. UEFA's worst fears of a final between teams from Russia and Ukraine were avoided as Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk became the only team from those two countries to reach the last four by beating Club Bruges 1-0 after the first leg had ended goalless. Sevilla's clash with Zenit was in the balance heading into the second leg with the Spaniards holding a 2-1 lead which it increased after six minutes with Carlos Bacca's penalty. The Russians fought back with second-half goals from Jose Rondon and Hulk. The visitors, however, wrapped up the tie when Gameiro rifled into the corner with five minutes remaining. Napoli's clash with Wolfsburg had the feel of a dead rubber in a tame first half and any hope of a German comeback was effectively extinguished by goals at the start of the second half from Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens. The visitors salvaged some pride, however, with goals from Timm Klose and Ivan Perisic in two minutes. Dynamo Kiev's hopes of upsetting Fiorentina were hit when Jeremain Lens received a dubious second booking for diving and was dismissed in the 40th minute. Fiorentina took the lead three minutes later with a goal from Mario Gomez before substitute Juan Manuel Vargas made it 2-0 deep into stoppage time. Dnipro reached the semifinals when Yevhen Shakhov's deflected effort found the back of the net after 82 minutes. — Agencies
