Latest News: Champions League draw sets Chelsea v PSG, Man City v Real Madrid
The latest news sees Chelsea drawn against holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16, while Manchester City will meet Real Madrid for a fifth straight season. The full draw leaves six Premier League clubs through to the last 16 and fixes a path that culminates at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday, 30 May ET.
Latest News: Last 16 matchups and schedule
Chelsea will play Paris St-Germain in the last 16, Manchester City will face Real Madrid, Arsenal are set to meet Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United will meet Barcelona, Liverpool take on Galatasaray and Tottenham have been drawn against Atletico Madrid. Six Premier League clubs have qualified for the last 16 but there will be no all‑English ties. The first legs are scheduled for 10 and 11 March ET, with second legs on 17 and 18 March ET.
Chelsea v PSG: Club World Cup rematch and managerial notes
Chelsea, current holders of the Fifa Club World Cup, will face Paris St‑Germain, the current Champions League holders, in a rematch of last year's Club World Cup final, when Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in New Jersey. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's gameplan in that Club World Cup final—pinging balls over Nuno Mendes for Cole Palmer to chase, with Malo Gusto supporting—was credited with tearing the European champions apart in the first half. Liam Rosenior may try to exploit the same vulnerability, but the Chelsea side have been described as looking weary after their exertions in the United States.
City v Real: repeated rivals and recent meetings
Manchester City and Real Madrid will meet in the knockout stages for the fifth straight season. The sides had never met in a competitive game until 2012; these two legs will bring their meetings since to 17, and City's win in Madrid in December was one recent highlight. Separately, that December victory in Madrid was described as City's ninth meeting with Real since April 2022. City's director of football Hugo Viana called it "a big game for both teams. It's like a final, we are happy to go there again. " City have also been noted as having won seven of their last eight in all competitions, while Real Madrid have sacked Xabi Alonso and have flaws despite high individual quality. Real Madrid have prevailed in three of the previous knockout meetings between the clubs.
Arsenal, Bayern and the projected quarter-final paths
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 get past Leverkusen they would face either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals. Opta rate Mikel Arteta's team as favourites to win this season's competition, giving the Gunners a 27. 40% chance of being crowned European champions for the first time, with Bayern ranked next best at 14. 28%.
Bayern Munich have lost just once all season in the Bundesliga and are averaging more than 3. 5 goals per game. Harry Kane has scored 43 goals in all competitions this season, with Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Luis Díaz running beyond him. Bayern finished the league phase second behind Arsenal, their only dropped points coming at the Emirates Stadium where they were outclassed and lost 3-1.
Newcastle, Liverpool, Galatasaray and other knockout narratives
Newcastle are at home for their first leg with Barcelona, while their Premier League rivals are all at home for their second leg, having qualified for the last 16 automatically. For Newcastle supporters, the memory of Faustino Asprilla's hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Barcelona in 1997 remains vivid; Newcastle have lost all four meetings since, including a 2-1 defeat at St James' Park in the league phase in September. That recent encounter in September was noted as giving Newcastle hope ahead of the last 16.
Liverpool, who take on Galatasaray, have won only one of five previous meetings with the Turkish side; their league-phase defeat in Istanbul in September formed part of a difficult autumn. Four of those earlier meetings were more than 20 years ago. Liverpool are considered more solid now than five months ago, and Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush pointed to the advantage of the second leg being at home, saying "the atmosphere at Anfield is second to none" and hoping that would count.
Galatasaray's playoff tie against Juventus showed both sides of their character: they were exceptional in the second half of the first leg at home, and Victor Osimhen was noted as possibly having a physical edge over the heart of Liverpool's defence, but in the second leg, even against 10 men, they wobbled badly, losing discipline and self‑belief. Man City, Newcastle and Liverpool all met their opponents during the league phase of this season's competition.
Playoff survivors and other form lines
PSG's recent form was described as indifferent: they were forced into the playoff round after a defeat by Sporting and a draw against Newcastle in their final two league‑phase games, before edging through with a 5-4 aggregate win over Monaco. Atalanta produced a comeback to overhaul a 2-0 first‑leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund in the playoff round, but they were described as not the same side as when they won the Europa League in 2024 and they lie seventh in Serie A.
The route to the final is already known: if Newcastle and Tottenham both progress they will meet in the quarter-finals, while Chelsea and Liverpool would meet in the other half of the draw. The Champions League final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday, 30 May ET.
