LIVERPOOL FACES ATLETICO IN LAST-16
Knockout-round draw pits Manchester City against 13-time winners Real Madrid in a blockbuster clash
Nyon, Switzerland - Holder Liverpool will return to the scene of last season's Champions League triumph after it was drawn against Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of the competition on Monday and Manchester City faces 13-time winners Real Madrid.
Jurgen Klopp's side will travel to the Wanda Metropolitano, where Liverpool lifted the trophy in June, for the first-leg of its tie against three-time runners-up Atletico.
"The task is going to be difficult because we have opponents who are the reigning champions," said Atletico director Clemente Villaverde.
"They are the champions, they have all the assets to be called the best team in Europe. We will have to use all our hard work and our experience. We know they are not going to make it easy."
Pep Guardiola's City, which is trying to win a first Champions League crown, faces a tough task against Real, the record winners of Europe's top club prize, for a place in the quarterfinals.
The two clubs met in the 2015-16 semifinals, the furthest City has progressed in the tournament. That tie was won 1-0 on aggregate by Madrid.
"It is a difficult one, of course. Real Madrid have won 13 times so they are the best," Man City director of football
Txiki Begiristain told BT Sport.
"We want to be the best so we want to beat them."
The clash is a first competitive meeting between Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane, who won the Champions League three times in a row with Real from 2016. "They are a big opponent, very powerful in every sense," said Real director Emilio Butragueno.
Chelsea faces German giant Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2012 final won by the Blues. However, Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has fond memories of London, where the Bavarians beat Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 final at Wembley.
"We're happy to go to London, we have great experiences from there. Chelsea are a dangerous team and we must take them extremely seriously," said Neuer.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which impressed in the group stage and will be trying to avoid a fourth successive last-16 exit, will take on 1997 champion Dortmund.
Barcelona meets Napoli
Barcelona will play Napoli for the first time as the Catalan giant, five-time European champions, attempt to move on from last season's painful semifinal loss to Liverpool.
Italian champion Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo will fancy their chances of overcoming French side Lyon.
Tottenham Hotspur, beaten 2-0 by Liverpool in last season's final in Spain, will lock horns with German League leader RB Leipzig, which is through to the knockout stages for the first time.
Champions League debutant Atalanta continues its adventure against two-time former finalists Valencia.
This is the first time since the current Champions League format was introduced in 2003 that every club through to the last-16 has come from Europe's biggest five domestic leagues.
The first legs will be played over February 18-19 and February 25-26 with the return fixtures scheduled for March 10, 11, 17 and 18. The final is on May 30 at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.