LAST UPDATE | 18 Dec 2023
HOLDERS MANCHESTER CITY will face FC Copenhagen in the last-16 of the Champions League, with the draw made earlier today at Uefa HQ.
Copenhagen’s reward for qualifying ahead of Manchester United and Galatasaray is arguably the toughest tie possible, facing Pep Guardiola’s treble winners, who topped their Champions League group with six wins out of six.
Arsenal’s reward for topping their group is a tie against FC Porto, whom they will host at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg. Porto qualified second in their group, behind Barcelona because of their inferior head-to-head record.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have been given a difficult draw, paired with Italian champions Napoli in what looks to be the tie of the round.
Paris Saint-Germain finished second in their group, behind Borussia Dortmund, and were drawn against Real Sociedad. Dortmund will face PSV, who are top of the Dutch league with a 100% record after 16 games.
Last year’s beaten finalists Inter Milan have been drawn against Atletico Madrid. Lazio will face Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid will face RB Leipzig.
The first legs of the last-16 ties will be played across 13/14 and 20/21 February, while the return legs are slated for 5/6 and 12/13 March.
This year’s final will take place at Wembley.
The draw for the Europa League knockout play-off round, which featured the eight group runners-up plus eight teams dropping down from the Champions League, was also made.
Brighton, Liverpool, West Ham and Rangers were not involved, having all topped their groups and progressed straight through to the last 16.
Galatasaray, who edged out Manchester United to take third in their Champions League group, will face Sparta Prague, with AC Milan, who finished above Newcastle, facing Rennes. Other notable ties were Feyenoord v Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk v Marseille.
*The side listed second will play the second leg of their tie at home
Written by Gavin Cooney. The Journal publishes the biggest breaking news in Irish and international sport but for all of The 42′s insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting, subscribe here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say