Staggering Man U draws high-flying PSG
Liverpool vs. Bayern and Manchester United vs. Paris Saint-Germain are two of the more enticing soccer matchups in the round of 16 of the Champions League, which was drawn Monday.
Manchester United is in disarray, standing only sixth in the Premier League and coming off a loss to Liverpool. It will face a daunting task against PSG, unbeaten and already 10 points clear in the French league, which it has dominated in recent years. But the prize that PSG most covets, the Champions League, has so far eluded it. This will be the first European meeting between the teams.
The attacking trip of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani will be particularly imposing against a Manchester United defence that has surrendered 29 goals in 17 games, the fifth highest total in the Premier League.
Liverpool is in first place in the Premier League and looking like a strong contender for its first title since 1990. It faces a major obstacle in mighty Bayern, although that team is unexpectedly back in third place in the Bundesliga, which it has won six times in a row.
The two other English teams also drew German opposition. Spurs will play Bundesliga leaders Dortmund, and Manchester City will face Schalke.
The other games will be Lyon-Barcelona, Ajax-Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid-Juventus and Roma-Porto. The first legs will be played Feb. 12, 13, 19 and 20 and the second legs on March 5, 6, 12 and 13.
Oddsmakers have Manchester City as the favourite to win the event for the first time, followed by Barcelona, Juventus and PSG.
The winner of the past three Champions Leagues, Real Madrid, is not favoured to win this year; it stands only fourth in the Spanish League and fired its new manager, Julen Lopetegui, in October.
Porto, of all teams, had the best record in the group stage at 5-0-1. Though still a long shot to take home the top prize, it does have a relatively kind draw in Roma.
The longest shot in the field, at 400-1, is Schalke, which is only 13th in the Bundesliga and must play megabucks Manchester City in the round of 16. On balance the last 16 is quite strong; there were few if any upsets in the group stage.
Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich leads the competition in scoring so far with eight goals.
The Champions League Final is June 1 in Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid’s home stadium.
Also drawn Monday was the Europa League. The 16 matchups include:
Malmo vs. the tournament favourite Chelsea, Celtic vs. Valencia, Zurich vs. Napoli, Seville vs. Lazio and
BATE Borisov vs. Arsenal.