Messi and Mbappé.EUROPA PRESS / Europa Press
The pairings for the eighth of the Champions League are already known after the draw held this Monday in Nyon.
Real Madrid, the only Spaniard to finish first in the group stage, will face Atalanta.
The Italian team qualified after eliminating Ajax and made things difficult for Liverpool in the group stage.
Last season they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, something the Whites have failed to achieve in the last two years.
Gasperini's men stand out for their offensive and cheerful football, and last year they already exhibited what they are capable of when they eliminated Valencia scoring 4 goals at the Mestalla.
Less luck have been the other three Spanish teams that finished second in their groups, especially Barcelona.
Those of Koeman will be measured against PSG of Neymar and Mbappé.
The Brazilian was injured this Sunday and his presence in the duel against his former team is in danger.
The two teams meet three years after the historic round of 16 tie in which the Blaugranas lifted the 4-0 in Paris with a 6-1 at the Camp Nou.
The French have never been able to defeat Barcelona whenever they have met in the Champions League.
For their part, Atlético will face Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
Simeone's men faced the Londoners in the 2014 semi-finals, before playing the final against Real Madrid in Lisbon.
After being the club that invested the most in the transfer market, Chelsea are looking to return to being a great in Europe after several years outside the elite.
In the group stage, they won the classification as first after an exhibition against Sevilla with 4 goals from Giroud.
Three seasons ago, they met in the group stage and the team coached by Conte then beat the rojiblancos and condemned them to the Europa League, which they ended up winning months later.
Precisely Sevilla, which returns to a round of 16 of the Champions League, will play against Borussia Dortmund, the most affordable team a priori that could be matched.
The German team, led by Haaland, laid off their coach last Sunday after being defeated at home against Stuttgart (1-5) by failing to reach the expected level of their squad full of young talents.
Round of 16 draw ✔️
Which tie are you most excited for?
🤩 # UCLdraw |
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- UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 14, 2020
The rest of the crosses have paired Borussia Mönchengladbach with Manchester City, Lazio with Bayern, RB Leipzig with Liverpool and Porto with Juventus.
The playoffs will begin on February 16 and the return matches will be played almost a month later, on March 9.
The seeds are secured the field factor for the second leg matches, in which the members of the quarterfinals will be decided.
The pairings for the sixteenth of the Europa League have also been known and the Spanish have not had the luck they expected.
Real Sociedad, one of the revelation teams of the season, has taken the worst possible rival and will face Manchester United, which was eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League.
Having finished second behind Napoli, the Txuriurdin team was assured of a difficult crossing, but it was the toughest team that could be matched.
Imanol Alguacil's men will play the first game at Anoeta on Thursday, February 18 and the second game at Old Trafford on the 25th of that month.
Unai Emery's Villarreal will face another team from the Champions League, Red Bull Salzburg, who faced Atlético de Madrid in the group stage.
The first match will be played in Austria and the return leg will be at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
The last of the Spaniards, Granada, which is playing its first season in the Europa League, will face Napoli, which has just beaten Real Sociedad in the group stage.
Pablo Machín's men will play the first leg at Los Cármenes and will visit the Diego Armando stadium for the second leg.