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Champions League draw in full: Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool discover fate after UEFA error
THE DRAW for the first knockout round of this season's Champions League took place on Monday.
Guardiola unconcerned by lack of Champions League clean sheets
The draw for the first knockout stage of the Champions League took place on Monday after the original fixtures from this morning's scheduled event were declared null and void. UEFA confirmed the news shortly after the earlier draw was made due to a bizarre mistake involving Manchester United, who were initially selected to face Villarreal.
However, the tie was promptly scrapped and drawn again due to both teams having qualified for the knockout stages through the same group.
It was also pointed out that United appeared to be left out of the pot for the draw with Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.
UEFA went on to announce that all fixtures would be redrawn later in the day as a result of their mistake.
The Red Devils were ultimately paired with Atletico at the second time of asking, while Manchester City will entertain Portuguese champions Sporting.
Last season's Champions League winners Chelsea were, once again, drawn against Lille after the same match-up was voided earlier in the day.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool will face Inter Milan as the Reds go in search of their seventh European triumph this season.
Elsewhere on the continent, Paris Saint-Germain were drawn against Real Madrid in what is arguably the most exciting fixture of the round.
Red Bull Salzburg were handed a tough match-up against Bayern Munich before Benfica were pitted against Dutch heavyweights and four-time Champions League winners Ajax.
Villarreal, who beat United in last season's Europa League final, will be tasked with overcoming Juventus in order to reach the last eight of Europe's most prestigious club competition.
City boss Pep Guardiola insisted before the rearranged draw was made that UEFA were doing the right thing in order to steer clear of controversy after their mistakes earlier in the day.
"You want an assessment about the draw? It is going to happen again, it is fair," Guardiola told a press conference on Monday afternoon.
"It was a mistake. These things can happen, to managers, players and UEFA too.
"It is fair. It would be a mistake not to repeat, there would be suspicions."
Recap Express Sport's live updates below.
KEY EVENTS
- Goodbye14:24
- Final draws14:15
- Two more14:14
- Next two draws14:12
- First up14:10
- Back again13:40
- Goodbye11:30
- Last but not least11:22
- Next two draws11:20
- Next up11:18
- First two draws11:16
- Pots in full10:45
- Good morning10:30
Goodbye
That's it from the draw for this season's Champions League round of 16.
A reminder that the first-leg ties will be played in mid-February, with the second and decisive legs set to take place in early March.
Chelsea will be pleased after being paired with Lille once again, while United could still be in for a tricky task against Atletico Madrid.
The star-studded match-up between PSG and Real Madrid is arguably the tie of the round.
Thanks again for joining us and we'll see you next time!
Here we go (again)
We're heading back to Switzerland for the second Champions League draw of the day...
Pots in full
Here's a reminder of the sides waiting to learn their fate this afternoon...
Seeded teams: Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Ajax, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lille.
Unseeded teams: Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Benfica, Red Bull Salzburg, Villarreal.
Pep weighs in
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted that UEFA will be making the right decision by running the draw for a second time in order to avoid controversy.
The defending Premier League champions, who qualified for the knockout stages as Group A winners, were initially paired with Villarreal.
"You want an assessment about the draw? It is going to happen again, it is fair," Guardiola told a press conference.
"It was a mistake. These things can happen, to managers, players and UEFA too.
"It is fair. It would be a mistake not to repeat, there would suspicions."
Back again
Scratch that, we go again!
The draw will be conducted for a second time at 2pm after the original fixtures were declared null and void as a result of the previous mistake involving United.
Goodbye
Thanks for joining us for live updates from this morning's Champions League draw.
See you next time!
There we have it
That concludes the draw for this season's Champions League round of 16.
The first-leg ties will be played in mid-February, with the second and decisive legs set to take place in early March.
No away goals
UEFA have scrapped the controversial away goals rule ahead of this season's Champions League knockout stages.
The decision was made with the intention of providing more entertaining matches and preventing overly defensive tactics.
It remains to be seen whether the change will have the desired effect next year.
Pots in full
Seeded teams: Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Ajax, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lille.
Unseeded teams: Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Benfica, Red Bull Salzburg, Villarreal.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to Express Sport's live coverage of this season's Champions League last-16 draw.
Europe's top clubs will be anxiously waiting to find out their next opponents after last week's final round of group stage fixtures.
The eight winners of each group will be seeded for the draw and will play at home in the second leg of their tie, with the second-placed teams unseeded and at home first.
The action is expected to get underway at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon in around half an hour.