Champions League last-16 draw: PSG face Real Madrid after redraw required due to UEFA errors
Manchester United, who were previously scheduled to play PSG, will now face Atletico Madrid, while Manchester City will face Sporting CP and Liverpool will face Inter.
Champions in the making Chelsea will face Lille after being drawn against the French team twice, while Manchester United will face Atletico Madrid and Liverpool will face Inter.
After the ties had to be redrawn on a hectic and embarrassing afternoon for UEFA, PSG will face Real Madrid in the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16.
The two European heavyweights will meet in the best of the ties next year, with Chelsea facing Lille, who they were also drawn with in the original draw.
Manchester United, who were previously scheduled to play PSG, will now face Atletico Madrid, while Manchester City will face Sporting CP and Liverpool will face Inter.
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Last-16 draw for the Champions League
- Bayern Munich vs. RB Salzburg
- Manchester City vs. Sporting
- Ajax against Benfica
- Lille against Chelsea
- Manchester United vs. Atletico Madrid
- Juventus vs Villarreal
- Liverpool vs. Inter
- Real Madrid vs. PSG
Why did the ties have to be redrawn?
After a mistake resulted in the original ties being ruled null and void, the draw for the final 16 had to be redone.
Manchester United was initially paired with Villarreal, but this was an oversight because the two teams were in the same group. They were subsequently incorrectly left out of the subsequent tie pot.
PSG was then drawn against Manchester United, which would have pitted Cristiano Ronaldo against Lionel Messi, but the entire draw was canceled and remade.
Last-16 draw for the Champions League
- Real Madrid vs. Benfica
- Manchester City against Villarreal
- Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid
- Liverpool vs. Red Bull Salzburg
- Ajax against Inter
- Juventus vs. Sporting
- Lille against Chelsea
- Manchester United vs. Paris Saint-Germain
The overall picture
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi appeared to be rekindling their old rivalry when Manchester United was drawn against Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi, on the other hand, will rekindle rivalries with Real Madrid for the first time since joining them on a free transfer from Clasico rivals Barcelona in the summer.
Why was Liverpool unable to face Villarreal?
When it was announced at the redraw that Villarreal could only face Juventus, despite Liverpool still being in the pot of group winners, there was some misunderstanding.
This was due to the fact that Inter had not yet been drawn, and the three group winners were Juventus, another Serie A team, and Real Madrid, with whom they shared a group.
As a result, Inter had to be matched with Liverpool from the remaining teams, Villarreal could only go with Juve, and Real Madrid had to play PSG.
Last-16 matchups in the Champions League
In 2022, the opening legs of heavyweight European matches will be held on February 15/16/22/23.
Return dates will be held on March 8/9/15/16, which is a few weeks later.
All of the remaining competitors are aiming to reach the final on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg.
It’s worth remembering that in elite European competition, the away goals rule is no longer in effect, which means that any ties that finish all square on aggregate will advance to extra time and, if necessary, penalties.
