Liverpool handed Real challenge in last 16 of Champions League

LAST season’s Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Liverpool have been paired together in this season’s last 16.

The Reds finished runners-up in their group behind Napoli and will host the reigning European and LaLiga champions at Anfield in February.

Real beat the Reds 1-0 in the 2022 final in Paris in May, a match marred by organisational chaos which led to the kick-off being delayed.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told his club’s official website: “This is a tie that speaks for itself and one that we should all be excited about.

“Real’s European record is the best around. We know this. But we also know that ours is not too bad. On top of this, we know that we have Anfield and everyone knows what this means.

“It is a really good draw. A really exciting draw. The games themselves are still a few months away, but it does not take a great deal of imagination to think what the atmosphere will be like at both games.”

Premier League champions and 2021 Champions League finalists Manchester City have been drawn to face German side RB Leipzig fourth in last season’s Bundesliga in the last 16.

Tottenham, who sealed top spot in their group with a last-gasp winner from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg away at Marseille, have been drawn to face Italian champions AC Milan with the first leg at San Siro.

Chelsea, winners of the competition in 2012 and 2021, will be up against Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund in the round of

16.

The first leg ties will be played on February 14, 15, 21 and 22, with the second legs on March 7, 8, 14 and

15.

German champions Bayern Munich - who did not drop a point in the group phase - are up against French league champions Paris St Germain, who they beat in the 2020 final of the competition.

Inter Milan, who finished runners-up behind Bayern in Group C, face Portuguese champions Porto while Club Brugge take on Benfica.

Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt will go up against Napoli for a place in the quarterfinals.

Manchester United have been drawn against Barcelona in the Europa League knockout play-off round.

The Catalan giants have dropped down into the competition after failing to get out of their Champions League group, but now provide a stern test for Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils who finished second in their Europa League group. United will travel to the Nou Camp on February 16 for the first leg of the tie, with the return at Old Trafford taking place on February 23.

The Red Devils have some fond memories of the Nou Camp, having completed the 1999 treble in the stadium with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in that year’s Champions League final.