The Champions League RO16 draw was done again after an initial mistake during the process.
The fixtures had come out some hours back, with Paris Saint-Germain versus Manchester United the most enticing of them all. Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo for one last time seemed mouth-watering, but it will not happen this year, at least in the RO16.
Instead, the blockbuster fixture still has PSG, but they will be taking on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be facing the Parisien superstars, including familiar foes Messi and Neymar Jr. Their former captain Sergio Ramos will also be on the opposite side.
Manchester United swapped Mauricio Pochettino’s men for El Cholo’s Madrid. Atletico will take on the Red Devils across two legs, and they will look to spoil their CL hopes.
Best of the rest
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich drew RB Salzburg, a match the latter team will feel bad about. As if their previous draw against Liverpool wasn’t bad enough, the redraw has pitted them against a scarier team in the Bundesliga leaders.
Liverpool drew Inter Milan, a tougher fixture than Salzburg. It will be an interesting game even though the six-time CL winners will be favourites.
Premier League champions Manchester City will take on Sporting CP, while Ajax will face Benfica. The aforementioned games have City and Ajax as heavy favourites respectively, but one can never say it’s over until the final whistle.
Rounding off the draw is Villareal versus Juventus and Chelsea versus Lille. The Europa League winners will take on the Old Lady in a match many have earmarked as a sleeper hit. The defending champions in Chelsea will take on the Ligue 1 club, which is the only fixture that has repeated in the previous draw.
Below is the redraw and its fixtures:
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
Sporting CP vs Manchester City
Benfica vs Ajax
Chelsea vs Lille
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
Villareal vs Juventus
Inter Milan vs Liverpool
PSG vs Real Madrid
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