What a draw!!!!!! If anyone told me at the start of the season that the round of 16 in the UCL would be Real Madrid-Liverpool, Manutd - Inter, Chelsea-Juve , I would have told them not to joke. These are the teams that anyone would want to avoid in the earlier stages of the competition. But!!!!!!!!!!! the fact is they gotta play each other so early in the cup. But the fans can be assured of absolute crackers from the round of 16 itself. These kind of draws had nothing to with the alleged fixing the draws, as the rule clearly states that 1st place team of a group would face a second placed team and all the above mentioned teams are those who should have finished at the top (i.e) teams like Real, Chelsea , Inter & Arsenal must have finished at the top. So they got to face the heat for finishing second, resulting in tough draws. This does not mean the problem is not only them but also for those(1st placed) whom they will be facing in the first knockout round. Who could have written the script better for Torres, a return to his favourite rival Real Madrid. A return to Old Trafford for Mourinho, a job he is tipped to take over once Fergie steps down. Chelsea up against a very strong Juventus. A journey to England again for Roma, who would like to put behind the miseries Manchester United caused them in the last two years. Anfiled would see Spain's top striker and its two best Goalkeepers in action. But the crucial thing is The second placed teams(Real,Chelsea,Inter,Arsenal) would have to play the return leg away from home. This may be great for the fans but some of them have got to exit the tournament at an early stage which might reduce the fun in the later stages.....Let the best teams go through.....
Ties to be played on 24th/25th February and 10th/11th March.
Champions League draw
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United
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