Time to tighten your seatbelts for scintillating Champions League action: Here is the draw

Trophy

Photo courtesy: goal.com

Nyon (Switzerland): Barcelona will face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League round of 16 game in a rematch of their classic encounter at the same stage four seasons ago. In 2017, PSG wasted a 4-0 first-leg lead by losing 1-6 at the Camp Nou in the second leg. It was a match when Barcelona scored three goals from the 88th minute on.

However, Neymar has since left Lionel Messi’s side in Spain and switched to PSG. The French side also did not have Kylian Mbappé back then.

Barcelona will host the first leg this time because they were unseeded in Monday’s draw after failing to win their group.

Defending champion Bayern Munich was paired with Lazio. The Italian team are returning to the knockout stage after a two-decade gap. Atalanta will host 13-time champion Real Madrid, and Liverpool is away first against Leipzig.

Cristiano Ronaldo will return to his native Portugal with Juventus for the first leg against Porto.

Teams could not be drawn against an opponent from their own country or one they already played in this season’s competition. Group winners were seeded in the draw and play the second leg at home.

The round of 16 is spread over four mid-weeks. First-leg games are scheduled February 16-17 or 23-24; return games will be played March 9-10 or 16-17.

The final is scheduled May 29 at the Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

So get set for some scintillating football action as the fight against COVID-19 continues.

The face-offs

Barcelona                     vs                PSG

Bayern Munich             vs                Lazio

Juventus                       vs                Porto

Real Madrid                  vs                Atlanta

Liverpool                       vs                Leipzig

Borussia                        vs                Manchester City

Atlético Madrid            vs                Chelsea

Sevilla                           vs                Borussia

 

Exit mobile version