PARIS:
Holders Manchester City were handed a draw against FC Copenhagen in Monday’s Champions League last 16 draw, with last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid meeting as the standout draw.
Pep Guardiola’s City, looking to retain the title they won in Istanbul last June, are expected to comfortably beat the Danish side, who advanced from their group at the expense of Manchester United after beating the Red Devils 4-3 . at home.
The clubs met in last season’s Champions League group stage, with City winning 5-0 at home before drawing 0-0 away at the Parken Stadium.
The first leg will be one of the first to be played in Denmark on February 13, with the return to England on March 6.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan were one of the teams to avoid after finishing second in their group and the meeting with Atletico will see Diego Simeone, the Spanish club’s manager, face a side he has two years as a player in the late 1990s.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have made the last 16 in each of the last two seasons and five of the last seven campaigns, also braced themselves for a tough draw having finished second in their group behind Borussia Dortmund.
They will therefore be relieved to draw with Real Sociedad, who topped their division above Inter Milan but are appearing in the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time since 2003/04, when they were knocked out by Lyon .
Barcelona’s meeting with Italian champions Napoli is another tie that stands out, while Premier League leaders Arsenal are tipped to beat Porto and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
“We want to try and go as far as possible, but we’re very focused on playing well, playing well and playing the best football we can, and then we’ll see how far we can go,” said Arsenal sporting director Edu . he said on the club’s website.
Sergio Conceicao’s Porto finished level with Barcelona in their group but finished second after losing both meetings with the Catalans.
Real Madrid will be keen against RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich will be strong favorites against Lazio, a team they won 6-2 on aggregate in the same phase of the competition in 2020/21.
“We’ve had positive experiences with Lazio in the past,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said.
“We will go into the games as favourites, but we will not allow ourselves to underestimate them.”
The other tie sees Dortmund face PSV Eindhoven, who are coached by former Borussia manager Peter Bosz and advance to the last 16 for the first time in eight years.
All first legs will be played in mid-February with all second legs in March.
This season’s Champions League final will be played at Wembley in London on June 1
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