Champions League last 16 draw: results, schedule and dates
2020/21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw
Neymar sends Messi message after PSG & Barcelona draw
Neymar to Messi: "See you soon my friend"
Neymar is undertandably looking forward to meeting Messi in the PSG-Barcelona tie. If the Brazil star has his way, he may be seeing Messi soon at PSG should the Argentine captain leave Barcelona in the summer as expected...
The Lowe-down on that crazy night
Sid's right, everyone seems to be reflecting on that incredible comeback. Here's how he saw it...
Messi and Neymar: back on the pitch together
Last week we watched Cristiano take to the field against his former nemesis at Barcelona, and today's draw lines up another pairing that we used to enjoy, although as teammates.
PSG star Neymar had recently repeated his desire to be reunited with the Argentine (many thinking that meant in Paris) but we may, at least, see them play on opposing sides.
Unless, of course, Messi moves to France in January!!!!!! Stop it!
The group stage is dead, long live the goals
All eyes have been on the draw for the last 16 but let's look back - and vote - on the best goals from the group stage.
Some absolute crackers!
Ballon d'Or Dream Team: Xavi chosen, but no Ramos or Casillas
A dream team made of gold
As well as the Champions League draw, you may also be aware that France Football are running out their all-time dream team.
Check out their decision in our piece below (Spoiler alert: it's a pretty spectacular team!)
UCL: Man City-Borussia MG
Pep on the German rivals: "I respect the beauty of Gladbach's footbal"
Chelsea vs At. Madrid at-a-glance with SofaScore stats
Neymar in the Champions League
It looked ominous for the Brazilian last night as he was stretchered off in tears after a rash challenge at the end of PSG-Lyon with early reports suggesting a broken ankle.
The news from the French capital is more upbeat after medical examinations on the ankle injury he sustained in the loss to Lyon are "reassuring" but the Paris Saint-Germain forward will undergo further checks.
UCL: PSG-Barcelona
We imagine we'll be seeing plenty of flashbacks to the 2017 Camp Nou 6-1 win. One of the biggest comebacks UCL histoiry
Europa League: Spotlight on the English sides
There were mixed fortunes for the four Premier League clubs in Monday's Europa League draw, while Milan are heading to Serbia.
Chelsea vs Atlético Madrid
The last time Chelsea visited the Spanish capital to play Atlético in 2017, they managed a 2-1 win, with Alvaro Morata scoring the Blues opening goal.
Leipzig director on drawing Liverpool
Leipzig sporting director Markus Krosche has acknowledged that the club will have a "difficult task" against 2019 winners Liverpool.
"It's definitely a difficult task. Liverpool have a strong team and a lot of experience, especially in the ChampionsLeague. However, we've shown that we can beat the top sides," he said.
Leipzig qualified after beating Liverpool's arch rivals Manchester United 3-2 in a do-or-die game last Tuesday.
Man City favourites to lift UCL
Stats website FiveThirtyEight has crunched the numbers and concluded that Manchester CIty are the favourites to scoop the Champions League this year, with a 26% chance. They are followed by Bayern (19%), Barcelona (12%) and Real Madrid (6%) and Chelsea (6%).
UEL: Real Sociedad-Man United
Lovely tweet from the Basque club with a nod to the last visit the San Sebastian side paid to Old Trafford with 6,000 fans making the trip to Manchester.
UEFA confirm dates/times for Europa League Round of 32 games
Champions League dates confirmed
UEFA have confirmed the dates for the Round of 16 games after this morning's draw in Nyon.
UCL: New Dortmund interim coach Terzic on Sevilla
Borussia Dortmund have appointed Edin Terzic on a temporary basis with his deal running through to June 2021. Speaking of the mid-week Bundesliga fixtures, the new BVB coach claimed that Sevilla are a 'complicated opponent'
UCL: PSG-Barça
What a clip as Lineker, Owen, Ferdinand and Gerard react to the 6-1 at Camp Nou in 2017.
UEL: Real Sociedad vice-president on United tie
Mikel Ubarrechena, vice president of the Basque club spoke to Movistar Plus and acknowledged that the tie would be 'just as hard for them' after the San Sebastian side were drawn against the Old Trafford outfit in the Europa League Round of 32 this morning.
Atalanta star asks for halt in voting
The Serie player requested that UEFA halt the count after one vote had been cast in a 'who will win' poll being conducted by the UEFA twitter account.
UCL: Bust up between coach and Argentine star at heart of Atalanta tension
Reports suggest that tension in the Bergamo dressing room started with a bust-up between coach Gasperini and Argentine striker Papu Gomez with the coach even prepared to offer his resignation.
UCL: Bayern on pairing with SS Lazio
"Lazio are an uncomfortable opponent, you saw that in the group," said Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic. "It is always uncomfortable against Italian teams."
UCL: Italian journalist Filippo Ricci on Real Madrid-Atalanta.
The Spanish based journalist feels that the draw is good for Zidane's side given that there is some internal turmoil afoot at the Serie A side and that their open style of play will be good for Real Madrid.
UEL: Spurs, Arsenal, Milan and Man United ranked as favourites by leading bookmakers to lift the Europa League trophy in Poland next May with Red Star, Molde, Antwerp and Wolfsberger seen as rank outsiders.
The other major footbally story this morning is the sad news that Gerard Houllier passed away earlier on today.
UCL: Lopetegui on Dortmund
Speaking ahead of his teams Copa del Rey tie, Sevilla boss Lopetegui claimed that Champions League opponents Dortmund have a 'very experienced coach'. Obviously the Basque coach is unaware that the Bundesliga side dismissed Favre yesterday and now begin the search for a new manager.
UCL: Zidane: "We have plenty of respect for Atalanta".
The Real Madrid coach was speaking ahead of his sides game in LaLiga on Tuesday against Athletic and was asked for his opinion on this morning's Champions League draw.
If you're just joining us, here's a quick recap of this morning's draws. At 12:00 we had the Champions League draw with the following pairings:
As mentioned earlier, Tottenham's return leg against Wolfsberger will be moved forward to the Wednesday night (Feb 24th) to avoid coinciding with Arsenal's home game at the Emirates.
Man United fan and journalist Andy Mitten already getting excited by the prospect of the game. Would great to think that fans or at least a number of spectators would be allowed to watch these games in February but that very much depends on the situation relating to the pandemic.
As Euan points out for any English based readers or Man United fans in general, Real Sociedad are known as 'La Real' with no-one referring to them as 'Sociedad'! You have been told !!!
As is the case almost every year, there are some big names in the Europa League and whilst the group stage may be a little bloated, the competition comes to life with the knockout rounds.
Our next Europa League business will be in Nyon on 26 Feb. as we discovering the pairings for the Round of 16.
As previously mentioned, the round of 32 first legs are scheduled for Thursday 18 February, with the second legs on 25 February.
Spurs fans should note that their game will be played a day earlier as Arsenal are also in action but the exact match times and dates will be confirmed later this evening bu UEFA.
Also like the look of Granada v Napoli with Maradona's memory still very pertinent ....
Real Sociedad v Man United, Benfica and Arsenal and Red Star vs Milan are the fixtures that immediately jump out as mouth watering pairings.
Final pairing sees Olympiacos and the Greek team face PSV
Penultimate draw sees Lille and the French men will take on Ajax
It's Maccabi Tel Aviv and they will face Shakhtar Donetsk
Spanish side Granada are out with the LaLiga side drawn against Napoli
Molde from Norway have been pitted against Hoffenheim
Swiss side Young Boys are next out and they will face Bayer Leverkusen
Krasnodar from Russia are next up and they face Dinamo Zagreb
Liga Nos side Braga will face AS Roma, another intriguing tie...
FC Salzburg are next out of the bowl with the Austrian Bundesliga men set to play Villarreal from LaLiga
Czech champions Slavia Prague will face Leicester City from the Premier League
Royal Antwerp from Belgium will face Rangers
Nex out are Red Star Belgrade, the only Serbian side in the draw and have been pitted against AC Milan
Next up: Portuguese giants Benfica and they will face Arsenal....another humdinger !
Matchup three sees Real Sociedad with the Basque side pitted against Manchester United.... a cracker !
Tie 2 will see: Dynamo Kiev with the Ukraine men heading to Club Brugge in Belgium
First up an unseeded side with the first club out being: Wolfsberger AC and the Austrian men will face Spurs
We're ready to commence with the draw.... Giorgio and Maniche will draw the balls
Michael Heselschwerdt, Head of Club Competitions at UEFA runs through the pairing system reminding us that no clubs from the same association can meet and no teams from the same group stage can be paired. There is also a Russia-Ukraine political ruling where clubs from those nations cannot meet.
Portuguese Maniche is on hand this morning to assist in the draw. The former player won the trophy under Mourinho.
The Italian pays tribute to Gerard Houllier and reminds us of the problems posed by the pandemic in staging football.
The human UEFA football encyclopedia and head of draws at Europe's footballing governing body is back as Giorgio Marchetti talks us through the procedure.
A quick best-of video compilation to remind us of some of the finest goals from the UEL Group stage is first up.
When will the Round of 32 games be staged?
The round of 32 first legs are scheduled for Thursday 18 February, with the second legs on 25 February. UEFA will confirm kick off times later this evening.
We're back in Nyon and once again Pedro Pinto is our host to oversee the draw procedure.
We'll have a new champion this year with reigning UEL holders Sevilla FC involved in Champions League this season.
26 May is the date for the 2021 Europa League final and like the Champions League, the intended venue from last year's final will be used in 2021 which is Gdansk in Poland.
Pot 2 features the unseeded clubs:
Antwerp (BEL, runners-up Group J)
Benfica (POR, D)
Braga (POR, G)
Crvena zvezda (SRB, L)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Granada (ESP, E)
Krasnodar (RUS)
LOSC Lille (FRA, H)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR, I)
Molde (NOR, B)
Olympiacos (GRE)
Real Sociedad (ESP, F)
Salzburg (AUT)
Slavia Praha (CZE, C)
Wolfsberg (AUT, K)
Young Boys (SUI, A)
We have 32 teams in the draw with Pot A featuring the seeded sides:
AC Milan (ITA, winners Group H)
Arsenal (ENG, B)
Ajax (NED)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO, K)
Hoffenheim (GER, L)
Leicester (ENG, G)
Leverkusen (GER, C)
Manchester United (ENG)
Napoli (ITA, F)
PSV Eindhoven (NED, E)
Rangers (SCO, D)
Roma (ITA, A)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR*)
Tottenham (ENG, J)
Villarreal (ESP, I)
Ok, time to turn our thoughts to the Europa League with the draw commencing at 13:00 CET
Sweet memories for Barcelona fans reminiscing about the famous 6-1 win over PSG at Camp Nou in 2017.
Some stats that will go down well with Liverpool fans with the Reds dominating German opposition in their past ten games
The next time we'll be back in Nyon on Champions League business will be 19 March as the draws for both the quarter final and semi-final of the competition will be made.
Don't forget that at 13:00, it's time for part II of today's UEFA draws as the Round of 32 in the Europa League will be drawn. Manchester United, Napoli, Benfica and AC Milan are just some of the big name sides involved in the draw.
After progressing to the Round of 16 for the first time ever, the Borussia Monchengladbach Foals have been handed a tough tie against Manchester City with the second leg in Manchester next March.
There's some good news coming through from Paris this morning as it's being reported that Neymar's injury is not as serious as initially feared with his ankle not suffering any break. This should mean that the Brazilian forward will be fit and ready to face Barça in the February Round of 16 game
When will the Champions League last 16 games be played?
The last-16 first legs are to be played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February 2021, with the second legs scheduled for 9, 10, 16 and 17 March 2021.
UEFA have confirmed that the definitive kick-off times will be confirmed on Monday afternoon at approximately 15:00 CET.
Also looking forward to Real Madrid facing Atalanta with the team from Bergamo making many neutral friends in last season's competition and one of the most exciting sides left in the competition.
Atletico vs Chelsea is another pairing that we're familiar with in recent years as Diego Costa will return to Stamford Bridge with the Spanish side.
The pick of the Round of 16 is arguably the PSG-FC Barcelona tie with Neymar facing his former side (if fit) and a match-up that has delivered some great ties in recent times with the 6-1 Camp Nou comeback in 2017 fresh in the mind.
Final game will see Atalanta with the men from Bergamo set to play Real Madrid
Penultimate tie will see Sevilla FC and the Andalusian outfit will play Dortmund
Match six will see a clash between FC Barcelona with the Catalan outfit pitted against PSG
Next up Portugal champions FC Porto and they face Juventus
Fourth pairing sees RB Leipzig and the German outfit are set to play Liverpool
Third tie: Atlético Madrid and Cholo's men will be pitted against Chelsea
Next up we have SS Lazio.... the Serie A side will face holders FC Bayern Munich
The first name out is ...... Borussia MG and the Bundesliga side will face Manchester City
Draw time.... off we go ..... 16 teams poised to learn their fate in the 2020/21 competition.
Michael Heselschwerdt, Head of Club Competitions at UEFA now goes through the procedures ahead of the draw.
When will the Champions League last 16 games be played?
The last-16 first legs are to be played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February 2021, with the second legs scheduled for 9, 10, 16 and 17 March 2021.
UEFA will publish the kick-off times on Monday evening.
The Swiss striker points to Bayern as the side to beat currently in the Champions League.
The Italian welcomes former striker Stefan Chapuisat to the stage and the Swiss striker will assist with the draw procedure this morning.
UEFA draw secretary Giorgio Marchetti takes centre stage and pays his respects to Gerard Houllier who passed away this morning. The Italian continues to talk about the challenges faced by Covid.
One of the best moments from the group stage was the Borrusia MG squad watching the end of the Inter-Shakhtar game on a ipad pitch side at Valdebebas and then enjoying the moment when they realised they had progressed for the first time ever in their history.
We'll likely have the usual UEFA action video with the highlights from the group stage over a thumping Euro electro soundbed..... right on cue : /
We're live in Nyon..... Portuguese journalist Pedro Pinto is our host in Nyon this morning.
Round of 16 Draw conditions:
Teams from the same nation cannot play one another at this stage of the competition.
Teams that met in the same qualifying group cannot be paired together.
A reminder of the draw pots this morning:
Champions League last-16 draw: the pots
Pot 1: group winners: Bayern Munich (GER) - Borussia Dortmund (GER) - Chelsea (ENG) - Juventus (ITA) - Liverpool (ENG) -Manchester City (ENG) - Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) - Real Madrid (ESP)
Pot 2: group runners-up: Atalanta (ITA) - Atlético Madrid (ESP) - Barcelona (ESP) - Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) - Lazio (ITA) - RB Leipzig (GER) - Porto (POR) - Sevilla (ESP)
Not directly UCL related but saddened to hear the breaking news about former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier.
#RIP
Neymar PSG blow
Fourth favourites PSG were dealt a major blow last night as striker Neymar Jr was stretchered off in tears at the end of the Ligue 1 game against Lyon in Paris.
Will the Brazilian forward be ready for Feb and the UCL Round of 16? Early reports in France suggested a broken ankle but these were later contradicted by the player's camp who claims that the injury is not as bad as originally anticipated.....
PSG are expected to release a medical update later today.
Holders FC Bayern Munich along with Man City and Liverpool are the firm favourites to lift the title at the end of May for many bookmakers.
Borussia MG, Lazio and FC Porto are deemed to be the outsiders by the betting experts.
Man City fans it would appear, are keen to face FC Barcelona in the next round with Argentine star Lionel Messi striker linked with a possible move to the Premier League side next summer.
"A chance for Messi to see his new home" claims one City supporter.
UEFA have remained faithful with the creative for the Istanbul final with the game now to be staged at the Attaturk Stadium on 29 May 2021 as opposed to earlier this year in the Turkish city as a consequence of the pandemic. We can only hope at this point that the situation re. Covid is so that fans, at least some, are permitted to attend the biggest match in European club football.
It's a bit of a draw marathon ahead for us this morning. At 12:00 CET, we'll have the Champions League Round of 16 draw and then at 13:00 it's the turn of the Europa League as the likes of Arsenal, Man United, Napoli, AC Milan and Rangers discover their Round of 32 opponents
Champions League: who are the most probable pairings for last 16?
Those statistically minded boffins have been busy at work and have concluded that these are the likely match-ups in the Round of 16. Real Madrid likely to draw RB Leipzig apparently....we shall see how faithful this work is in slightly more than 30 minutes.
Barcelona very much the standout name in Pot B. How much will the Catalan side rue that home defeat to Juventus last week? Despite a better performance in LaLiga last night from Koeman's side, it's clear that the azul-grana are far from their best and this season will fail to evoke that 'fear factor'.
Italian based journalist Tancredi Palmeri offers his current ratings of all 16 sides involved in this morning's draw
When will the Champions League last 16 games be played?
The last-16 first legs are to be played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February 2021, with the second legs scheduled for 9, 10, 16 and 17 March 2021.
UEFA will publish the kick-off times on Monday evening.
A draw with Sevilla appears to be the preferred option from Borrusia Dortmund fans who are now on the hunt for a new head coach after Lucien Favre was dismissed by the Bundesliga side on Sunday.
So we have 3 sides from England and Italy, one French and Portuguese side with both Germany and Spain seeing a 100% progression from their four respective representatives.
A reminder of the 16 sides that will be in both draw pots this morning:
Champions League last-16 draw: the pots
Pot 1: group winners: Bayern Munich (GER) - Borussia Dortmund (GER) - Chelsea (ENG) - Juventus (ITA) - Liverpool (ENG) -Manchester City (ENG) - Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) - Real Madrid (ESP)
Pot 2: group runners-up: Atalanta (ITA) - Atlético Madrid (ESP) - Barcelona (ESP) - Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) - Lazio (ITA) - RB Leipzig (GER) - Porto (POR) - Sevilla (ESP)
The ceremony will commence in UEFA's Nyon offices at 12:00 CET and we'll be building up to the event with the latest news and of course some pre-draw speculation.
Hello and a very warm welcome to our live coverage of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw.