Champions League Draw: Chelsea to Face PSG in Last 16 as Man City Are Paired with Real Madrid
The champions league draw delivered high-profile knockout ties, with Chelsea drawn against holders Paris St-Germain and Manchester City set to meet Real Madrid for a fifth successive season. The last-16 picture also features Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United v Barcelona, Liverpool v Galatasaray and Tottenham v Atletico Madrid, creating a wide-open knockout phase that matters for continental momentum and domestic bragging rights.
Champions League Draw: Key last-16 matchups
Six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16, but the draw produced no all-English ties. Chelsea will play the current Champions League holders Paris St-Germain; Manchester City are paired with Real Madrid; Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen; Newcastle United meet Barcelona; Liverpool take on Galatasaray; and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid.
Schedule and home legs
The first legs are scheduled for 10 and 11 March, with second legs to be played on 17 and 18 March. Newcastle will be at home for their first leg against Barcelona, while the other Premier League sides who qualified automatically will host the second legs of their ties.
Rematches, recent meetings and extra context
Chelsea's last-16 tie with PSG is a rematch of last year's Fifa Club World Cup final, a match in New Jersey that Chelsea won 3-0. Manchester City's December win in Madrid marked their ninth meeting with Real Madrid since April 2022. Man City, Newcastle and Liverpool all met their last-16 opponents during the league phase of this season's competition, leaving familiar tactical and personnel questions for the knockout rounds.
Reactions from clubs and representatives
Chelsea's director of football said the tie will be tough but not intimidating and that the club will focus on one game at a time rather than the final. Manchester City's director of football described the Real Madrid game as a big occasion for both teams and likened it to a final, noting his side are happy to return there. A Liverpool ambassador pointed to the advantage of hosting the second leg at Anfield and the unique atmosphere the venue creates.
Route to the final and odds
The path to the final is already mapped: if Newcastle and Tottenham both advance from their last-16 ties they would meet in the quarter-finals, and Chelsea and Liverpool would meet in the other half of the draw. Arsenal finished top of the league phase as the only team to win all eight games, with Bayern Munich three points behind in second. If Arsenal overcome Leverkusen, they would face either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals. Statistical models give Mikel Arteta's Arsenal a 27. 40% chance of winning the competition, with Bayern placed next at 14. 28%.
The final is scheduled to take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, 30 May. With packed fixtures and high-stakes ties, the champions league draw sets up a decisive few months across Europe as clubs prepare for the knockout test.
