According to the initial draw, besides the two fiery matches Real Madrid vs Chelsea and Man City vs Bayern, there are also 2 pairs: Milan vs Napoli and Inter vs Benfica. In this order, Milan and Inter will be playing at home in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League.
However, it is worth mentioning that these two Milan teams share the same home ground (San Siro/Giuseppe Meazza), so UEFA was forced to adjust accordingly. According to the rules of the most powerful body in European football, if two clubs in the same city have a match schedule on the same day, then one of the two matches will have to be changed.
The Milan city government also does not allow Inter and Milan to play at home less than 24 hours apart, so the option of delaying the schedule of one of the two clubs 1 day apart also becomes impossible. Therefore, UEFA was forced to keep 1 pair of matches and change the other pair.
As the reigning Serie A champions, Milan has been prioritized by UEFA to keep the schedule, meaning they will play at home San Siro in the first leg against Napoli. Meanwhile, Inter suffers a disadvantage when they will have to be a guest before Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, instead of being kicked at Giuseppe Meazza’s home ground as the original schedule.
The fact that Milan is given priority is in fact completely within UEFA’s regulations and not in a spontaneous form. Accordingly, UEFA’s law clearly states that the defending Champions League, Europa League, Conference League winners, and championship clubs in the national league will be given priority, and then the runner-up cases will be considered. If these criteria are not satisfied, the ranking in the national championship will be considered.
In general, with this draw, Serie A is likely to have a representative in the Champions League final 2022/23. The last time an Italian representative entered the Champions League final was Juventus in the 2016/17 season (losing to Real Madrid 1-4).
The first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2022/23 will take place on May 9 and 10. The return legs will take place on May 16 and 17.
