Real Madrid and Manchester City are the most prominent matches in the round of 16 of the Champions League

Today, the European Football Association (UEFA) held the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League at its headquarters in the Swiss city of Nyon, which resulted in strong confrontations, most notably Real Madrid’s match with Manchester City.

For the sixth time since the 2019-2020 season, Manchester City was drawn against Real Madrid in the knockout rounds of the Champions League. The two teams had met once during the league stage this season, when Manchester City came from behind to win 2-1 over Real Madrid, the European champion a record 15 times, in December.
This will be the first time in the history of the Champions League that two teams will meet in the knockout stages for five consecutive seasons.”

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola told reporters, “For our club, whenever you play against the best teams in the history of this tournament, you learn, develop and become better in the future.”

Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain will face Chelsea in a repeat of last year’s Club World Cup final, which witnessed great excitement and ended with the English club’s victory.

Chelsea coach Liam Rossnier, who previously led Strasbourg in the French First Division, said, “I’m very excited. Paris Saint-Germain is a great team. I have experience playing against them in France. It’s a team I’ve always admired.”

Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen, and its perfect record of eight wins in the league stage has spared it from facing the major teams, after topping the standings in the Champions League. If it qualifies for the quarter-finals, Arsenal will meet Sporting Lisbon or Bodo/Glimt, while Real Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who won the last 10 editions, are on the other side of the tournament track.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said, “We are very excited to go into the next round. We deserved to be in a strong position thanks to what we presented in the league stage.”

Bayern Munich, who finished second in the league stage, will play against Atalanta, which defeated its German compatriot Borussia Dortmund in the playoff thanks to a penalty kick in stoppage time.

Newcastle United faces Barcelona again, after the Spanish team won the opening match of the league stage, while Liverpool meets Galatasaray.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said, “Newcastle has a great team. We saw that in the last match when we played there. (The confrontation) is not easy.”

Tottenham Hotspur, who is struggling in the English Premier League, will also meet Atletico Madrid, while the Norwegian Bodo/Glimt – which won this season over Manchester City, Atletico and Inter Milan – will face the Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon.

The first leg matches for this round are scheduled to be held on the 10th and 11th of next March, with the return matches being held on the 17th and 18th of the same month.