City face Barcelona test
16 Dec 2014 10:03 PM GMT
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were drawn on Monday against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City tackle Barcelona in two blockbuster Champions League last 16 ties. Chelsea’s ‘reward’ for sailing into the knockout stages unbeaten was a testing match-up against the Qatari-backed French champions who they beat on away goals in last season’s quarterfinals. Like PSG, English champions City will be out for revenge after being brushed aside 4-1 on aggregate by Barca at this stage in the last Champions League campaign.
City’s director of football, former Barcelona player Txiki Begiristain, said: “We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away, so the players will be working hard to get fit and arrive in confidence for those games.
The last 16 draw staged at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, gave holders Real Madrid a palatable pairing against German side Schalke 04, coached by Roberto Di Matteo, who was in charge of Chelsea when they were crowned kings of Europe.Real met Schalke in last season’s last 16, easing through 9-2 on aggregate, en route to their tenth title.
Last year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid come up against Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal, finalists in 2006, face their coach Arsene Wenger’s old club Monaco, Italian champions Juventus will have to overcome Borussia Dortmund, and German giants Bayern Munich, who beat Borussia in the 2013 final, play Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arsenal are appearing in the knockout stages for the 17th successive season, and club secretary David Miles reflected on their favourable draw. Swiss outfit Basel’s reward for knocking out Liverpool at the group stage was a match-up with two-time winners Porto. The last 16 first leg games are scheduled for 17/18 and 24/25 February, with the second legs on 10/11 and 17/18 March. The final for Europe’s elite club competition will take place in Berlin’s Olympic stadium on June 6.
City’s director of football, former Barcelona player Txiki Begiristain, said: “We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away, so the players will be working hard to get fit and arrive in confidence for those games.
The last 16 draw staged at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, gave holders Real Madrid a palatable pairing against German side Schalke 04, coached by Roberto Di Matteo, who was in charge of Chelsea when they were crowned kings of Europe.Real met Schalke in last season’s last 16, easing through 9-2 on aggregate, en route to their tenth title.
Last year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid come up against Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal, finalists in 2006, face their coach Arsene Wenger’s old club Monaco, Italian champions Juventus will have to overcome Borussia Dortmund, and German giants Bayern Munich, who beat Borussia in the 2013 final, play Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arsenal are appearing in the knockout stages for the 17th successive season, and club secretary David Miles reflected on their favourable draw. Swiss outfit Basel’s reward for knocking out Liverpool at the group stage was a match-up with two-time winners Porto. The last 16 first leg games are scheduled for 17/18 and 24/25 February, with the second legs on 10/11 and 17/18 March. The final for Europe’s elite club competition will take place in Berlin’s Olympic stadium on June 6.
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