Champions League Draw: champions league draw sees Chelsea to face holders PSG in last 16
champions league draw produced a high-profile last-16 lineup, with Chelsea set to play holders Paris St-Germain and Manchester City drawn against Real Madrid. The draw confirmed six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16 and that there will be no all-English ties.
Key ties and dates
Chelsea will play holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16. Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the knockout stages for a fifth straight season. Arsenal, the leaders, will face Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United will meet Barcelona, Liverpool take on Galatasaray and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid.
The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, with the second legs to take place on 17 and 18 March.
Champions League Draw: legs and venues
Newcastle are at home for their first leg with Barca, while their Premier League rivals are all at home for their second leg having qualified for the last 16 automatically. The final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, 30 May.
Chelsea v PSG rematch details
Chelsea's tie with PSG is a rematch of last year's Fifa Club World Cup final, when the Blues beat the European champions 3-0 in New Jersey. Chelsea and Paris St-Germain are the current holders of the Fifa Club World Cup and Champions League respectively.
Chelsea's director of football David Barnard said: "It'll be tough but it holds no fear for us, " and added: "It's too soon to speak about the final, we should think game by game. Now we have a strong opener to face. "
Manchester City and Real Madrid
Man City, Newcastle and Liverpool all met their opponents during the league phase of this season's competition, with City's win in Madrid in December their ninth meeting with Real since April 2022. City's director of football Hugo Viana said: "It's a big game for both teams. It's like a final, we are happy to go there again. "
Route to final and odds
The route to the final is already known and if Newcastle and Tottenham both progress, they will meet in the quarter-finals, as will Chelsea and Liverpool in the other half of the draw. Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush added: "I think our advantage is that the second leg is at home. I think the atmosphere at Anfield is second to none and, hopefully, that will come into it. "
Arsenal finished top of the league phase having been the only team to win all eight games, while Bayern Munich were three points behind in second. If they get past Leverkusen, Arsenal will face either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals. Opta rate Mikel Arteta's team as favourites to win this season's competition by some distance, giving the Gunnners a 27. 40% chance of being crowned European champions for the first time, with Bayern ranked next best at 14. 28%.
The champions league draw set high-stakes ties and clear paths through to the final at the Puskas Arena on 30 May, leaving many ties to be decided across the two legs in March.
