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The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League season has reached the quarterfinal stage, with eight of the best teams in Europe left in the competition. The teams have gone through six games in the group stage and a two-legged Round of 16 to get to this stage.
In the Round of 16 stage, the teams have faced one knockout situation already, and this has prepared them for the rest of the tournament.
The Champions League quarterfinals has a new look this year
This year, holders Chelsea are joined by Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Benfica in the last eight of the competition. With the removal of the away goal rule, the competition looks different than previous years.
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Arriving in the quarterfinals is a metric of how strong a team is in Europe due to the fierce nature of the competition. Surprisingly, many of the strongest European teams of the past did not even make it into the last eight of the competition in 2021-22.
Without further ado, here are five teams with the most appearances in the quarterfinals of the Champions League since it was rebranded in 1992.
#5 Juventus (12 appearances)
Italian giants Juventus are one of the powerhouses in European football. The Turin-based side have qualified for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League 12 times since the inception of the competition in 1992.
Juventus last won the competition in 1995-96 and have gone on to lose in the 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2017 finals. Their last appearance in the quarterfinals came in 2019, when they lost to a talented Ajax side 3-2 on aggregate. Among Italian teams, Juventus are the second most successful team in Europe behind AC Milan.
Juventus have been eliminated in the Round of 16 stage in each of the past three seasons against Olympique Lyonnais, FC Porto and Villarreal. This season, Villarreal sent them crashing out of the competition following a 4-1 aggregate win for the Europa League champions.
#4 Manchester United (14 appearances)
Manchester United are undoubtedly one of the clubs with great European prestige. They are one of the most decorated English sides in the history of the Champions League. They have reached the quarterfinals of the competition 14 times since its inception 30 years ago.
Manchester United last tasted glory in the competition in 2008 when they defeated Chelsea on penalties in the final in Moscow. They have since lost the 2009 and 2011 finals to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Their last quarterfinal appearance was against the same team in 2019, and they lost 4-0 on aggregate.
Manchester United have struggled to reach the levels of previous years in recent seasons. The Red Devils have qualified for the Champions League only twice in the past four seasons. They were knocked out in the Round of 16 this year by Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.
#3 Real Madrid (18 appearances)
Real Madrid are no strangers to being among the best in Europe. They are the side with the most UEFA Champions League crowns in the history of the competition. They have qualified for the quarterfinals 18 times in 30 years of participation.
Real Madrid last won the competition in 2018 in what was the third of a three-peat of titles.
It came after they won in 2016 and 2017. Los Blancos reached the semifinals last season before losing to eventual winners Chelsea.
They knocked out star-studded Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 of this season's edition to reach the last eight. They have won the competition 13 times in total and seven times since 1992. They won in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
#2 FC Barcelona (18 appearances)
Spanish giants Barcelona have also reached the quarterfinals of the competition 18 times since its inception in 1992. The Blaugrana are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history.
Barcelona last won the competition in 2015. They followed this up with near-misses in 2018 and 2019, when they suffered huge defeats in the latter stages. Their last quarterfinal appearance was in the record-breaking 8-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in 2020.
Barcelona are not the force they once were, and this is evident in the fact that they did not make it out of the group stage this season. They have lost in the Round of 16 in each of the last two seasons as well. Barcelona have won the competition four times since its rebranding, with wins in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015.
#1 Bayern Munich (20 appearances)
Bayern Munich are the side with the most appearances in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League since 1992. They have reached the quarterfinals 20 times in 30 seasons since then, and are the most successful German side ever.
Their last Champions League trophy came in 2020 when they defeated PSG in the final. In the last 10 years, they have only failed to make the quarterfinals once, in 2018-19. Eventual winners Liverpool knocked them out in the Round of 16 back then.
Bayern Munich dispatched Red Bull Salzburg in the Round of 16 of the competition this season. Since 1992, they have won the competition only three times; in 2001, 2013 and 2020.
