THE prospect of three English teams reaching the Champions League semifinals increased Friday when Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United avoided each other in the quarterfinal draw made in Athens.

If they win their quarterfinal games, Chelsea and Liverpool will face each other in one semifinal. That means Manchester United could be waiting for one of them in the May 23 final.

Although Italy’s AC Milan and AS Roma also avoided each other in the draw for the last eight, they will meet in the semifinals if they advance.

Liverpool visits PSV Eindhoven on April 3 and Roma hosts Manchester United on April 4.

Six-time winner Milan will meet Bayern Munich, which has won European soccer’s most prestigious cup competition four times. Milan’s last triumph was in 2003 and Bayern hasn’t won the title since 2001.

Chelsea-Valencia pairs two clubs that have never won the title.

The return legs will be played April 10 and 11.

UEFA also made the draw for the semifinals, and that could wind up with Chelsea vs. Liverpool — a repeat of their 2005 meeting at the same stage. Liverpool won that on Luis Garcia’s disputed goal before going on to win the trophy for the fifth time with a memorable come-from-behind victory over AC Milan in Istanbul.

The other semifinal could be Roma-Milan, provided they both advance.

The semifinal first legs are April 24-25, with the second legs May 1-2.

(SD-Agencies)