Real to face City in UCL last 16

AFP

Manchester City's reward for winning its UEFA Champions League group was a guaranteed last 16 pairing with a team that only finished runner-up. It got Real Madrid.

The record 13-time champion will host the first leg on February 26 against the ambitious English Premier League title holder, which is trying to win the European Cup for the first time.

The match pits Real coach Zinedine Zidane against City manager Pep Guardiola. Zidane has won three UCL titles in three attempts with Real, while Guardiola has been seeking his third title for almost a decade after winning twice with Barcelona.

“The only way to be top in Europe is going forward and (playing in) semifinals and finals and winning the Champions League,” City director of football Txiki Begiristain said at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, after Monday's draw.

City's best run in the UCL was reaching the semifinals in 2016, losing 0-1 over two legs to Real. That was soon after Zidane took over in Madrid, and just before Guardiola was hired to replace Manuel Pellegrini in Manchester.

Also, Liverpool was sent back to the Spanish stadium where it won the title last season. The first leg against Atletico Madrid will be at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on February 18.

“I think that Liverpool know (the stadium) very well,” said Atletico director Clemente Villaverde, describing the unbeaten EPL leader as “at this moment the best team we have in Europe.”

Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp said there were “pretty much four or five potential finals already in the last 16.”

Spanish league leader Barcelona will face Napoli with the first leg in Italy, and Chelsea will face Bayern Munich in a rematch of the 2012 final. Chelsea won that title in Bayern's home stadium, which will host the second leg on March 18.

In other matchups: Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel was paired with his former club, Borussia Dortmund; Lyon will take on Juventus; Tottenham Hotspur will play RB Leipzig; and Atalanta will meet Valencia.

Lyon will face Juventus, a team led by Cristiano Ronaldo, without its own star forward. Memphis Depay left Sunday's French league game with a season-ending knee injury.

The Juventus games will be played on the same nights — February 26 and March 17 — as Real plays City.

“The whole world will be watching, no doubt,” Real director Emilio Butragueno said. “We will experience football at its best and then the fans will be lucky to enjoy this kind of game.”

AFP

Two pairings feature teams playing in the knockout rounds of the UCL for the first time. Leipzig will play the first leg at last year's runner-up Tottenham and Atalanta will go up against Valencia.

For the first time, all 16 teams left play in the five wealthiest European leagues.

The first legs will be played between February 18 and 26, with the return games from March 10-18.

The final on May 30 will be at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will play against Belgian champion Club Brugge in the round of 32 of the Europa League.

Monday's draw also paired Arsenal, last year's runner-up in the second-tier competition, with Greek club Olympiakos.

Brugge dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in its UCL group, which included PSG and Real. It drew 2-2 in Madrid.

Ajax, which also transferred across from the group stage of the UCL, was drawn to play Getafe, with the first leg in Spain.

Three seasons ago, United beat Ajax in the Europa League final to secure a place in the UCL.

Other teams switching across as third-place finishers in their UCL groups include Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk, who were drawn to play each other.

Inter Milan was paired with Ludogorets Razgrad, and Salzburg will face Eintracht Frankfurt.

Arsenal will play the first leg against Olympiakos in Greece. Record five-time champion Sevilla was paired with Romanian club Cluj, and AS Roma will play Gent.

The first legs will be played on February 20, with the return games on February 27.

The May 27 final will be in Gdansk, Poland.