UCL draw: Liverpool vs PSG; Madrid vs Atlético
Liverpool have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16, while holders Real Madrid face local rivals Atlético Madrid.
Elsewhere in Friday’s draw, there will be an all-German tie as Bayern Munich meet Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal will take on PSV Eindhoven, and Barcelona will play Benfica.
Aston Villa drew Club Brugge, Borussia Dortmund will play Lille, and Feyenoord will go up against Inter Milan.
The ties will be played over two legs. The first-leg matches are scheduled for March 4-5, with the return legs taking place on March 11-12.
Liverpool may leave the draw feeling hard done by: Arne Slot’s side won seven out of eight games to progress to this stage as the No.1 seed, bypassing the playoff round along with the other top eight teams, but still drew an in-form PSG side.
PSG finished 15th in the league phase of the competition, reaching the round of 16 with a resounding 10-0 aggregate win over fellow French side Brest in the playoff round.
The tie pits the league leaders in England and France against each other, while both teams possess two of the continent’s most effective forwards this season in Mohamed Salah and Ousmane Dembélé.
The winners are due to face either Villa or Brugge in the quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Madrid and Atlético will meet in a mouthwatering derby, with the first leg to be played at the Bernabéu and the return game at the Metropolitano.
Madrid, who are 15-time champions, reached this stage by knocking out Manchester City 6-3 on aggregate this week, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat trick in the second leg.
It sets up a hugely difficult month for Atlético, which also face Barcelona three times in the coming weeks: twice in the a two-legged Copa del Rey semifinal and again in LaLiga.
The winners will meet either Arsenal or PSV in the last eight, with a potential semifinal against either Liverpool or PSG.
On the other side of the draw, Bundesliga top two Bayern and Leverkusen will meet for the chance to take on either Feyenoord or Inter in the quarterfinal. The two sides drew 0-0 when they met in the league last weekend.
A semifinal would then come against either Barça, Benfica, Dortmund or Lille.
Barça beat Benfica 5-4 in the league phase in January, and the teams will meet again over two legs in the last 16, with Hansi Flick’s LaLiga leaders afforded the second leg at home after progressing as the second seed.
A potential quarterfinal would then be against either Dortmund or Lille.
Champions League round-of-16 draw
Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa
Borussia Dortmund vs. Lille
Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid
Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen
PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal
Feyenoord vs. Inter Milan
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Liverpool
Benfica vs. Barcelona
