Real Madrid to visit Old Trafford for the since time since 2003
Arsenal to play last season's runners up, Bayern Munich
After beating Barca, Celtic must get the better of Italian champions Juventus
Hot favourites Barcelona will play AC Milan, as they did four times last year
Full last 16 draw... and when they play
Galatasaray v Schalke
(February 20 and March 12)
CELTIC v Juventus
(February 12 and March 6)
ARSENAL v Bayern Munich
(February 19 and March 13)
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
(February 13 and March 5)
AC Milan v Barcelona
(February 20 and March 12)
Real Madrid v MANCHESTER UNITED
(February 13, March 5)
Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain
(February 12 and March 6)
Porto v Malaga
(February 19 and March 13)
*First team at home first
Sir Alex Ferguson will face Jose Mourinho in the Champions League last 16 after Manchester United were drawn against Real Madrid.
The game will also pitch Cristiano Ronaldo against his former club for the first time since he left in a world record £80million deal in 2009.
Arsenal dodged Barcelona but have been handed a tough draw against last season's runners up Bayern Munich.
And Scottish champions Celtic, who beat Barca earlier the competition, were drawn against Italian side Juventus, who topped Chelsea's group.
Barcelona's match-up with AC Milan is the pick of the rest of the ties, which will kick off in February.
Turkish side Galatasaray were drawn against Arsenal's group winners, Schalke, while German champions Borussia Dortmund, who topped Manchester City's group, will face Shakhtar.
Porto, who won the Champions League under Mourinho in 2004, will play Malaga, while Carlo Ancelotti's Paris Saint-Germain take on Valencia.
CURRENT ODDS TO WIN
Barcelona 9/4
Real Madrid 5/1
Bayern Munich 7/1
Borussia Dortmund 8/1
Juventus 11/1
Manchester United 14/1
Paris St Germain 20/1
Shakhtar Donetsk 33/1
Arsenal 40/1
Porto 50/1
Malaga 50/1
Schalke 66/1
Valencia 66/1
AC Milan 100/1
Celtic 150/1
Galatasaray 250/1
The draw comes just a day after Ferguson heaped praise on his old friend Mourinho.
The Scot said: ‘He is very intelligent, he has charisma, his players play for him, and he is a good looking guy. I think I have most of those things, too, apart from his good looks.
'He’s got a confidence about himself, saying "We’ll win this", and "I’m the Special One". I could never come out and say we’re going to win this game. It’s maybe a wee bit of my Scottishness?’
That was followed by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who played for both.
He wrote: 'United or Madrid.. Who do I want to win? Played my heart out for them both. Proud to have played for both. #impossible #MayTheBestTeamWin.'
And United's club secretary John Alexander hoped there was a lucky omen in the draw.
He told Sky Sports News: 'Out of several standout ties, I think this is the one. It's the tie that everyone wanted to see - but that nobody wanted to see, they wanted to save it for later in the competition.
'When you think about the traditions of these two clubs they have both been incredibly successful, but of course the past is history.
'One thing going in our favour is that our one victory over Real Madrid in this competition was in the year we won the final at Wembley [in 1968] so let's hope that is a lucky omen.'
THE LAST TIME REAL MADRID CAME TO OLD TRAFFORD
WHEN JOSE MOURINHO FIRST APPEARED ON SIR ALEX FERGUSON'S RADAR
Thursday's Champions League draw were exactly the same as the rehearsal on Wednesday. just look at the screengrab from Sky Sports News the day before the draw.
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is optimistic his side can see off Arsenal.
He told Uefa.com: 'I think we enter this match as the slight favourites, but we can be making the mistake of underestimating them.
'Arsenal have struggled at times in the league over the last few months, which a look upon the standings in the Premier League will tell you. But by no means will this be an easy game for us. I look forward to our game in London and back home in Munich.
'We want to set the foundations with a good performance in London, that would make things easier for us in our home game.
'I wouldn't call this a lucky draw, but one that we can overcome. I look forward to seeing my old friend Arsene Wenger and I hope that we can reach the next round.'
Celtic boss Neil Lennon, on Twitter on Thursday morning, had asked Santa to be nice to Celtic.
And afterwards, he said: ‘In terms of glamour it’s great, in terms of qualification it will be very tough. But every team would be tough.
‘We’ll look forward to it. We want to go as far as we can and it’s another huge game for us to enjoy.’
Lennon’s side beat Barcelona and Spartak Moscow in Glasgow after drawing with Benfica as they progressed from Group G behind the Catalans.
‘The home game is pivotal. We’ll have to take some sort of advantage to Turin. Celtic Park is a very special arena and I’m sure the fans will raise the roof again.’
United will play the first leg at the Bernabeu on February 13 with the return at Old Trafford on March 5, just three days after the Spanish champions are due to play rivals Barcelona.
Arsenal will play a week later with the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on February 19 and the second at the Allianz Arena in Munich on March 13.
Celtic will take on Juventus at Celtic Park on February 12, with the return leg in Turin on March 6.
The draw contained nine former champions of Europe, including United and Celtic, though not last year's winners Chelsea.
Proceedings began with a tribute to Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova, who is having an emergency operation today after suffering a relapse of a cancerous tumour in his salivary gland.
No comments:
Post a Comment