Stern UCL test for Reds
PARIS. — Liverpool will have the chance to avenge last season’s Champions League football final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid after they were drawn yesterday to face the holders again in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain were drawn to play Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2020 final which was won by the German club.
Manchester City will play RB Leipzig and 2021 winners Chelsea also drew German opposition in the shape of Borussia Dortmund.
After topping their group thanks to a lastgasp winner away to Marseille last week, Tottenham Hotspur were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan.
Inter Milan will play Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt take on Napoli, while Benfica were drawn against tournament outsiders Club Brugge of Belgium.
The first legs of all last-16 ties will be played in February with the return matches in March.
The final of this season’s Champions League will be held in Istanbul on 10 June next year.
The Turkish city was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again 2021, only for the game to be moved on each occasion to Portugal due to the pandemic.
Vinicius Junior’s winner saw Real Madrid lift their 14th European title in May’s final, following on from Real’s 3-1 victory against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv.
But Liverpool will now get an early opportunity to exact some revenge for that loss as they bid to reach the quarter-finals in this season’s competition.
Reacting to the draw, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told Sky Sports News: “It’s a very difficult tie for Liverpool. Finishing second in their group, they don’t get the opportunity to play at home in the second leg.
“However, Jurgen Klopp’s side will want to avenge the final defeat last year, even though it doesn’t win you the competition. It does give you something to put right, though.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona and Manchester United will meet in the Europa League playoffs for a place in the competition’s last 16.
Spanish side Barcelona met the 2017 Europa League winners twice in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, winning on both occasions, while United lost both legs of the 2018-19 European Cup quarter-final meeting between the pair.
“The draw has given us the most difficult rival again, like in the Champions League group stage. Luck was not on our side. Manchester United are a great rival, a historic club - the worst that we could wish for,” Barca manager Xavi Hernandez said after the draw.
Champions League last 16 draw in full
RB Leipzig v Manchester City
Club Brugge v Benfica
Liverpool v Real Madrid
AC Milan v Tottenham
Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli
Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea
Inter Milan v Porto
PSG v Bayern Munich
Europa League play- offs draw
Barcelona v Manchester United
Juventus v Nantes
Sporting Lisbon v Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk v Stade Rennais
Ajax Amsterdam v Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen v AS Monaco
Sevilla v PSV Eindhoven
Salzburg v AS Roma
LAST- 16 SCHEDULE
First leg: 16 February
Second leg: 23 February