Monday, November 7, 2022

Liverpool to face Real Madrid in Champions League

BUDAPEST, Hungary 

Liverpool will face Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16 tie in a repeat of the 2022 final, while Chelsea were drawn against Borussia Dortmund.

Vinicius Junior's winner saw Real Madrid lift their 14th European title in May's final, following on from Real's 3-1 victory against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv.

But Liverpool will now get an early opportunity to exact some revenge for that loss as they bid to reach the quarter-finals in this season's competition.

Reacting to the draw, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told Sky Sports News: "It's a very difficult tie for Liverpool. Finishing second in their group, they don't get the opportunity to play at home in the second leg.

"However, Jurgen Klopp's side will want to avenge the final defeat last year, even though it doesn't win you the competition. It does give you something to put right, though."

Graham Potter's Chelsea will take on Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic facing their former club.

Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic said of the draw: "We have a top team waiting for us. In Aubameyang and Pulisic we're meeting old friends. We're looking forward to seeing you again and of course, we want to make it through to the next round."

Tottenham were drawn against AC Milan, and will be an added incentive for Spurs boss Antonio Conte who previously managed Milan's fierce city rivals Inter between 2019 and 2021.

Manchester City face a tie against RB Leipzig as they harbour ambitions of reaching a second Champions League final. 

Pep Guardiola's side have lost only one of their last 17 matches against German sides in the Champions League (W14 D2) - although that defeat came away at RB Leipzig in December 2021.

Elsewhere, in another replay of a recent final, PSG have been drawn against Bayern Munich in another stand-out last 16 tie. Bayern were 1-0 winners in the 2020 final against the Ligue 1 side, winning their sixth European title.

UEFA will announce which games will be played when later on Monday.

Champions League last 16 draw in full:

  • RB Leipzig vs Man City
  • Club Brugge vs Benfica
  • Liverpool vs Real Madrid
  • AC Milan vs Tottenham
  • Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli
  • Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea
  • Inter Milan vs Porto
  • PSG vs Bayern Munich

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