Monday, November 4

Holders Chelsea face Lillie, Real Madrid drawn against PSG

Agencies

Defending champions Chelsea will face French side Lille in the Champions League last 16 after the draw for the knockout stages was announced for a second time on Monday.

According to the UEFA, a “technical problem” caused an error in the initial draw, which has been “declared void”.

The BBC reported that Premier League champions Manchester City will take on Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon while six-time winners Liverpool play three-time winners Inter Milan.

Manchester United are pitted against Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

In the standout tie of the round, 13-time champions Real Madrid come up against French powerhouse Paris St-Germain.

Why was it redrawn?

In the original draw, Manchester United’s ball was pulled out of the pot against Villarreal but they were ineligible to face each other as they had been in the same group – an eventuality UEFA said the technology should have prevented.

Last season’s Europa League winners Villarreal were instead paired with Premier League champions City, BBC further reported.

Uefa said in a statement: “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the Uefa Champions League round of 16. As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone.”

Champions League last-16 draw:

Red Bull Salzburg v Bayern Munich

Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City

Benfica v Ajax

Chelsea v Lille

Atletico Madrid v Manchester United

Villarreal v Juventus

Inter Milan v Liverpool

PSG v Real Madrid

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