Barcelona will face a mouth-watering tie with Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 following the Champions League draw. The game will see a repeat of the 2016/17 round of 16 stage where Barcelona staged a stunning comeback to advance 6-5 on aggregate against the Parisians.
Meanwhile, holders Bayern Munich have been drawn against Lazio and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will face German opposition in RB Leipzig.
Champions League Draw
Key Games
There’s no doubt that Barcelona’s tie with PSG will be the key battle in the round of 16. The two teams have many storylines intertwined with each other, particularly recently, but there can be no forgetting the two-legged tie between them back in 2017.
PSG led 4-0 on aggregate going to the Nou Camp after a horrorshow from Barca in the opening leg. By half-time they had pulled two back through Luis Suarez and a Layvin Kurzawa own goal, and Lionel Messi’s penalty early in the second period really set things up for a special finish.
Edinson Cavani’s thunderbolt threatened to spoil it again, making it 5-3 to PSG overall, but three goals from the 88th minute onwards, two from Neymar and then a winner by Sergi Roberto, sealed one of the greatest European comebacks of all time.
Neymar, of course, now plays for the opposite side, but could miss the tie alltogether after suffering what appeared to be a serious injury in the Ligue 1 match against Lyon on Sunday. With Lionel Messi reportedly wanting out of Barca too, there is no doubt that links with PSG will continue now that the pair have been drawn together.
Bayern Munich will be feeling happy with their draw and their chances of retaining their crown after being handed Serie A side Lazio. The Italian side qualified alongside Borussia Dortmund but this is just the second time they have reached the knock-out stages of the competition.
Liverpool, too, will be confident that they can go further than last season after drawing RB Leipzig. Julian Naglesmann’s side scraped through on the last matchday after edging out Manchester United, but were semi-finalists last season, so will be hoping to advance to at least that stage once more.
Draw in Full
Borussia Monchengladbach v Manchester City
Lazio v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
RB Leipzig v Liverpool
Porto v Juventus
Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain
Sevilla v Borussia Dortmund
Atalanta v Real Madrid
Main Photo
