The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw took place on Monday, and ex-Arsenal man Andrey Arshavin, the ambassador for the final to be held in Petersburg on May 28, carried out the procession. Atletico Madrid drew the 2020 champions Bayern Munich, whilst the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool finished with relatively easier draws.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be reunited on the field as PSG were drawn next to Manchester United. Both these clubs previously faced off in the 2018/19 round of 16, where United edged the Parisian club, whilst they met again in the last season’s group stages, where both sides registered wins away from home.
Defending champions of the tournament Chelsea drew the French champions Lille in their draw, whilst Ajax, who finished on top of the group stages for the first time since 1995, will be facing the 2010 winners Inter Milan. Villarreal will be facing Manchester City, whilst Sporting Lisbon have drawn Italian giants Juventus.
However, there was one major glitch in the draw that grabbed a lot of attention. Manchester United were paired up initially with Villarreal in the group stages, only for the people involved to realize that they both were in the same group and cannot take on each other in the round of 16.
Since one of the draw balls of United was used up for Villarreal, there was a shortage for the next draw, which is why Atletico Madrid did not have the possibility to pair up with the Red Devils. A lot of experts and fans had been predicting that PSG will be up against United, which is exactly what happened in the draw and the social media remains unhappy about it.
Giorgio Marchetti was quick to point out the technical error made by the organizing team, which evaded United the opportunity to draw against the Atleti. It is not a draw they would’ve fancied, considering their love affair against English clubs, especially in knockout games.
Another exhilarating edition of the UEFA Champions League group stages came to an end with some heavyweights of the competition finding the exit doors. Five-time champions FC Barcelona and 1997 winners Borussia Dortmund made their way into the Europa League, having finished third in their respective groups, whilst seven-time winners AC Milan finished bottom of Group B.
Bayern Munich, Ajax and Liverpool remained the only teams in this edition’s group stage to win all their fixtures, with the Reds also becoming the first English club to do so. Erik Ten Hag’s men are on a sensational run across all competitions, and they defeated the likes of Sporting and Borussia home and away in their group.
Ajax’s sensational run was powered by former West Ham forward Sebastian Haller, who scored 10 goals in the group stages, one more than the Bayern stalwart Robert Lewandowski. Haller was totally involved in 12 goals and is the first player to be involved in 10 or more goals in his first-ever season in the Champions League.
The first legs of the competition will start on February 15 and February 16, followed by the other four games happening on February 22 and 23. The second legs will be taking place on 8/9/15/March 16, shortly after which the draw for quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place on March 18.
