Arsenal and Aston Villa are the last English teams remaining in the Champions League after securing their spots in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal cruised past PSV with a dominant 9-3 aggregate victory, while Aston Villa comfortably defeated Club Brugge 6-1 over two legs to advance.
As expected, the competition’s final eight is packed with elite clubs from five different nations.
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain both had to rely on penalty shootouts to get past Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, respectively. Meanwhile, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan handled their opponents more easily — with Barca beating Benfica, Bayern eliminating Bayer Leverkusen, and Inter overcoming Feyenoord.
Borussia Dortmund had a tougher time but narrowly edged Lille 3-2 on aggregate to move forward.
With the tournament now entering its decisive stages, what path must Arsenal and Aston Villa take to reach the final?
Arsenal’s potential route to the 2025 Champions League final:
Following their emphatic win over PSV, Arsenal will face reigning champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. If they win, they’ll meet either Aston Villa or PSG in the semi-finals. Should they make it to the final, they could face one of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, or Barcelona.
Aston Villa’s potential route to the 2025 Champions League final:
Villa’s impressive return to Europe’s top competition continues, but they’ll have a tough challenge against PSG in the quarter-finals. If they pull off a win, they’ll take on either Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semis. Like Arsenal, their potential final opponents could be Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, or Barcelona.
Upcoming Champions League knockout stage schedule – Quarter-finals and semi-finals:
Quarter-final first legs:
8 April
Arsenal vs Real Madrid
Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan
9 April
PSG vs Aston Villa
Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund
Quarter-final second legs to follow.