Champions League Draw: Tough Ties For England’s Big Four
Here’s the draw for the last 16 of this season’s Champions League:
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United
(Ties to be played on 24/25 February, 10/11 March)
First impressions? It’s a tough draw for the Premier League sides, although Arsenal will be relieved to have avoided Barcelona. The rest of England’s big four – Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool – face formidable opposition.
The headline fixture is Inter vs Man Utd, or Jose Mourinho vs Alex Ferguson. United couldn’t have landed a more difficult opponent – Inter have one of the strongest squads in Europe, and Mourinho has got the better of United in the Champions League before, when he was manager of Porto. The Special One will be rubbing his hands at the thought of taking on the reigning champions.
Liverpool will not be dismayed at the prospect of taking on Real Madrid. Real are in transition and vulnerable. Chelsea, on the other hand, did not want Juventus, who are currently managed by old boss Claudio Ranieri.
Long-range predictions: Arsenal and Liverpool to go through, Chelsea and Man Utd – last year’s finalists – to be knocked out.
Posted: 19th, December 2008 | In: Sports Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
