The Champions League last-16 draw has been confirmed, with some fascinating ties set to be played. Ties include a repeat of last years final.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City have discovered their fate for the UCL Round of 16. The draw took place on Monday morning at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Round of 16 ties
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
As one of the seeded sides, Pep Guardiola’s men will play away at the Red Bull Arena in the first leg, before welcoming the German outfit to the Etihad Stadium in the return leg.
City reached the knockout stage for a tenth consecutive season, having topped Group G finishing ahead of Borussia Dormund, Sevilla and Copenhagen.
Meanwhile Leipzig qualified for the last 16 by finishing runners up to Real Madrid in Group F.
If the Citizens want to win the UCL for the first time in their history, they’ll need the help of Erling Haaland and co to overcome the tricky German side.
✨ #UCLdraw ✨
We will face RB Leipzig in the #UCL Round of 16 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Zjxa0tOXFU
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 7, 2022
Club Brugge vs Benfica
Belgium’s Club Brugge have made the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history – making them everybody’s second favourite team in this years competition.
They came second in their group in one that even featured Atletico Madrid, however the Spanish giants finished rock bottom.
It’s been a tremendous journey for the 18 time Belgian champions so far, and this is all after losing their star player in Charles De Ketelaere in the summer.
As for Benfica, they also surprised a lot of people in this years competition, and have demolished opponents along the way of qualifying to the last-16. They topped Group H ahead of PSG, Juventus and Maccabi Haifa.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
It’s arguably the biggest tie of the round, as it’s a replay of last year’s final and surely Liverpool will be out to get some kind of revenge against the 14-time winners of the competition.
Madrid beat Liverpool in Paris in last year’s final thanks to a goal from Vinicius junior in the 59th minute, and the Reds were certainly in the game but Madrid held on in the end thanks to some mesmerising goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois
It’ll be the fourth time in six seasons that the sides will meet. Two of those occasions have been in finals, with Madrid winning both (2017-18/2021-22).
Liverpool vs Real Madrid in recent years #UCLdraw
❌ 2022 UCL final: 0-1
❌ 2021 UCL quarters: 1-3 (on aggregate)
❌ 2018 UCL final: 1-3
❌ 2015 UCL group stage: 0-1
❌ 2015 UCL group stage: 0-3 pic.twitter.com/f01CLopb70— Eurosport (@eurosport) November 7, 2022
AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur
Italian champions AC Milan will take on Spurs in the last-16 of the competition.
Spurs sealed their qualification for the knockouts in dramatic fashion by coming from behind to defeat Marseille on Match-day 6 of the competition. Antonio Conte’s side eventually topped the group after a 95th minute winner by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Milan finished three points behind Chelsea in Group E after avoiding defeat in the four other games in the group, after losing to the Blues twice.
This meeting is the first since the pair clashed back in 2011 in the same round of the competition, which was won 1-0 on aggregate by Spurs via a Peter Crouch goal at the San Siro.
Frankfurt vs Napoli
Last year’s Europa League winners Frankfurt are safely through to the knockouts of the Champions League after finishing second in Group D, and they take on one of the most in-form teams in all of Europe.
Napoli won Group A ahead of Liverpool as runners up. They are also unbeaten and top of Serie A, and are six points clear of AC Milan in second.
The only time the sides have met in Europe was back in 1994-95 and Frankfurt were 2-0 winners on aggregate after picking up a 1-0 win both home and away.
Borussia Dormund vs Chelsea
Chelsea will meet with Borussia Dortmund for the first time ever in the Champions League, and it is one of the more exciting fixtures in the round for a couple of reasons. One being Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will return to face his former club. He’s not the only player who’ll be playing against his old club, as Christian Pulisic will also be doing so.
Chelsea vs. Dortmund.
It's a Christian Pulisic derby 😤 pic.twitter.com/MLXyfRhL7X
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 7, 2022
Two-time European champions Chelsea were knocked out by Real Madrid at this stage of the competition last year, so will look to do better this campaign. However, with Chelsea’s current form and Graham Potter still trying to find his best starting lineup, it will be a tough ask for the Blues.
Inter Milan vs Porto
Porto won Group B, however many have labeled the Dragons as one of the easier ties in the round. The Portuguese side have impressed in recent years in the competition, and will be tough opposition for anybody.
They take on an Inter Milan side, who did well in a tough group – beating Barcelona to second place just behind the unstoppable Bayern Munich, who won six out of six and are the only unbeaten side left in all of the competition.
PSG vs Bayern Munich
Alongside the Liverpool/Madrid tie, this one has to be up there with one of the tastiest of the round. It’s another repeat of a recent final as Bayern beat PSG 1-0 in the 2019-20 final thanks to a goal from Kingsley Coman on the hour mark.
These two are no strangers either, having met five times in the past five years.
The German side dominated their group, winning all six games and only conceding two goals while scoring 18.
Meanwhile PSG finished second in their group behind winners Benfica, and the Parisians were certainly made to work hard for it, especially in two games against the Liga Nos leaders Benfica.
PSG x Bayern always delivers ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/aHo98Nw5N8
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 7, 2022
All games to be take place on 14/15/21/22 February (first leg) and 7/8/14/15 March (second leg).
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