After originally making a mistake in the original Champions League last-16 draw, UEFA had to redo the draw.
The eight fixtures have now been decided for the next stage of the Champions League after a lot of confusion, with only holders Chelsea vs Lille having the same outcome as the original draw.
The standout fixture in the second, revised draw looks to be Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid, with many different underlying storylines ready to be played out in the match.
Why was it redrawn?
In the original draw, Manchester United’s ball was pulled out of the pot against Villarreal but they were ineligible to face each other as they had been in the same group – an eventuality Uefa said the technology should have prevented.
Last season’s Europa League winners Villarreal were instead paired with Premier League champions City.
Further confusion appeared to occur when United were excluded from the pot of possible opponents for Atletico Madrid, and Liverpool included instead.
However, United could have played the Spanish side and Liverpool could not, having progressed into the knockout stage from the same group.
Uefa said in a statement: “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the Uefa Champions League round of 16.
“As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone.”
One major change this season…
The first legs will be spread out across 15, 16, 22 and 23 February, with the second legs on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March.
Chelsea are the only English side to play their first leg at home, with the other three all away first after winning their groups.
A major change from this season sees the away goals rule removed, so ties level after 180 minutes will go to extra time.
If the teams still cannot be separated after the additional 30 minutes, then it goes to a penalty shootout.
This season’s final takes place in St Petersburg, Russia, on 28 May.
Premier League sides will fancy their chances
The high farce of the twice-run Champions League last-16 draw was yet another example of sport’s ability to make something seemingly simply so complicated – but at least the Premier League’s quartet of clubs finally know their fate.
For Chelsea, it was the same second time around after a “software” glitch was resolved as they were paired once more with French champions Lille, a draw that will leave them cautiously optimistic of progress.
Manchester United, having originally been lined up for the next chapter in the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after drawing Paris St-Germain, still got a tough one in Atletico Madrid in the revised version. Tough, but maybe not quite as tough as it once was with Atletico struggling for form. No-one, however, should write off coach Diego Simeone’s ability to make life hard for anyone in this tournament.
Liverpool fared slightly worse at the second time of asking. Italian champions and Serie A leaders Inter Milan will present a tougher challenge than original opponents Red Bull Salzburg but Jurgen Klopp’s side will still be favourites.
Manchester City will also believe they can find their way into the last eight as they will now meet Sporting Lisbon of Portugal after the redraw. They would also been favourites from their first pairing against Villarreal and each of the Premier League sides will firmly believe they can reach the last eight.
Credit: bbc.com
