UEFA staged the round of 16 Champions League draw on Monday, and as usual, a couple of ties stand out from the rest. Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-1 yesterday in the first of their two annual rivalry clashes yesterday. Today, both of the northwest England juggernaut clubs learned of the formidable opponents who await them in the knockout round.
The first leg of United versus Paris Saint-Germain will be played at Old Trafford on Tuesday 12 February 2019, before the second leg takes place at the Parc de Princes on Wednesday 6 March 2019. In the tweet above you will find the entire list of the all the next round’s fixtures.
Spectacular. The round of 16 draw ?
Most exciting tie? #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/ZjUBmvLwVl
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 17, 2018
United versus PSG sounds a lot better on paper than it might actually be in reality. Unless the Red Devils address the issue of fixing their leaky defense in the January transfer market, this could get ugly. United’s banged up, not great even when healthy back line versus the PSG trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani could be match-up nightmare.
For Liverpool, the first leg of their tie with Bayern Munich will be at Anfield Tuesday 19 February. The second leg will be in Bavaria Wednesday 13 March. It’s a tie worthy of a final, as one of the finest German managers in history takes on the Bundesliga power house that he has faced numerous times while the leader of Borussia Dortmund.
“It will be a tough one, an interesting one, and I am looking forward to it,” said Reds manager Jurgen Klopp.
All four English sides advanced through to the knockout round, and we have more on Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur’s draws over at this link.
While United and Liverpool face very tough tasks of going through to the elite eight, City and Spurs have a more favorable path.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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