Champions League draw LIVE: Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa learn last-16 opponents and fixture dates confirmed
The three Premier League sides have learned who they face in the round of 16, as well as their potential opponents in the quarter-finals and semi-finals
The Champions League knockout stage draw has taken place this morning with Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learning their last-16 opponents.
Arsenal face a trip to the Netherlands against PSV, while Liverpool must travel to a rampant PSG side following their 10-0 aggregate win over Brest in the play-off round. Aston Villa will enjoy a trip to Belgium against Club Brugge as Unai Emery continues their European adventure.
Real Madrid’s impressive dismantling of Manchester City has earned them a Madrid derby against cross-city rivals Atletico, with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich also offering a tasty all-Bundesliga tie. Barcelona take on Benfica, while Feyenoord's reward for knocking out AC Milan is a tie against their city rivals Inter Milan.
Liverpool could face Villa in the quarter-finals, while the Gunners will be eyeing up a last eight tie against one of the Madrid giants. Follow all the latest results and reaction from Nyon below:
Manchester City’s predictable Champions League humbling leaves Pep Guardiola with sobering realisation
The stuff of boyhood dreams for Kylian Mbappe but the continuation of Manchester City’s altogether newer nightmare and the confirmation of how far and how fast they have fallen. For Mbappe, his first great European evening at the Bernabeu yielded a hat-trick for the club he supported as a child. But, two years after winning the Champions League, City are out of it while Club Brugge remain in it. It has been a shocking fall from grace. And yet there was nothing surprising about elimination to Real Madrid: not to anyone who has watched their season. A 13th defeat in 26 games, a fourth in their last four away in Europe, was inevitable from the moment Mbappe lobbed Real ahead.
For Pep Guardiola, there was no remontada, no comeback for the ages, nothing to rescue City’s worst season in the Champions League for a dozen years or his poorest as a manager. There was just a defeat that was as comprehensive as it was predictable. City have had hard-luck stories in many of their Champions League exits. This wasn’t one of them. They were outclassed, the match stripped of its tension from the start.
Man City’s Champions League humbling leaves Pep Guardiola with sobering realisation
When is the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals?
From the knockout play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket, so potential opponents in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were also pre-determined by pairings that were set according to league positions.
Once again, the bracket was set after the end of the league phase, so teams already know potential opponents.
The last-16 draw will lay out this bracket in full on Friday, with a further draw on the day to determine the order of the matches (i.e. who plays at home in each leg).
How the Champions League last-16 draw will pan out
Based on the seedings, the draw will determine the following ties:
PSG - to play Liverpool or Barcelona
Benfica - to play Liverpool or Barcelona
PSV - to play Arsenal or Inter
Feyenoord - to play Arsenal or Inter
Real Madrid - to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich - to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
Club Brugge - to play Lille or Aston Villa
Borussia Dortmund - to play Lille or Aston Villa
Paris Saint-Germain sweep past Brest as Juventus crash out of Champions League
A round-up of the action from Wednesday...
Paris Saint-Germain hammered Brest 7-0 at the Parc des Princes to cruise into the last 16 with a 10-0 aggregate victory.
Seven different players were on the scoresheet as PSG recorded their biggest win in European competition in advancing to meet either Liverpool or Barcelona, the top two clubs from the league phase.
And Ryan Flamingo scored an extra-time winner for PSV Eindhoven as they dumped out Juventus with a spectacular 3-1 second-leg win to go through 4-3 on aggregate.
Paris Saint-Germain sweep past Brest as Juventus crash out of Champions League
Which teams have qualified for the Champions League last 16?
The teams who finished in the top eight of the competition's new league phase table automatically qualified for the last 16.
Uefa paired off every team based on their first-phase league position into a predetermined bracket, which will affect who they can face in the round of 16.
According to the new rules, the seeded sides will all play the second legs of their ties at home.
Seeded:
- Liverpool
- Barcelona
- Arsenal
- Inter Milan
- Atletico Madrid
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Lille
- Aston Villa
Unseeded:
- Bayern Munich
- Feyenoord
- Benfica
- Club Brugge
- Real Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund
- PSG
- PSV
When is the draw for the Champions League last 16?
The draw for the next rounds of the Champions League takes place at 11am GMT on Friday, 21 February at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
How can I watch the Champions League draw?
The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website and, in the UK, on TNT Sports.
Champions League draw LIVE
The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League will take place at Uefa headquarters this Friday, after the conclusion of eight intriguing play-off ties in midweek.
Real Madrid comfortably swept Manchester City aside as Kylian Mbappe scored a stunning hat-trick at the Bernabeu, while Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Brest in an all-French clash to go through with a 10-0 aggregate scoreline.
Celtic suffered heartbreak with a after a tragic last-second goal conceded at Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, the Germans joining Feyenoord, Club Brugge and Benfica in booking their spot in this Champions Leaguedraw via the play-offs.
Friday’s draw will see Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and the rest of the top eight sides learn their potential routes to the final, as the business end of the competition begins in earnest in March.
Champions League draw LIVE
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s Champions League draw.
The ceremony takes place at Uefa HQ in Nyon, and will show clubs and fans their potential route to May’s final in Munich.
But first, each side will find out their opponents for the round of 16, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa eagerly waiting to learn who they’ll face.
We’ll have all the latest build-up and updates right here.
Champions League last-16 draw
Welcome to the Independent’s coverage of the Champions League last-16 draw after a dramatic play-off round.
Man City’s emphatic defeat to an inspired Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid stole the headlines as the innovative new format gathers pace.
While there was heartbreak for Celtic after Bayern Munich’s stoppage-time strike denied them a shot of extra-time.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa have been patiently waiting to discover their next opponents and we’ll confirm the ties for the last 16 and the path for each club to reach the final in Munich this May. Follow for the latest updates and build-up as the draw unfolds in Nyon, Switzerland.
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