Barcelona to face Arsenal in first elimination stage
Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc refuses to see his side as favourites to beat Chelsea in their Champions League last 16 tie despite the contrasting form of the two teams.
Arsenal mid-fielder Mathieu Flamini had said, “We obviously don’t want Barcelona as they are a top team but for the rest, we will see”. “But we are the reigning champions and that gives you an edge”. We couldn’t play against Real [Madrid], because they were in our group, but we could play against Barcelona and Bayern [Munich].
Arsenal recovered from a woeful start to their group as a 3-0 victory at Olympiakos last week sent the Gunners through to the last 16 for the 16th successive season.
Manchester City have been drawn Dynamo Kyiv, who came second in Chelsea’s group.
By contrast, Manchester City will be happier with their draw against Dynamo Kyiv – but there was a notable downside for their supporters as the game in Ukraine must be played behind closed doors.
“English teams are always very strong”, he told Eurosport.
“You only know if it’s a good draw after the tie”. They have great players, players who are known around the world.
“Everybody wanted to avoid Barca and Bayern so we are not so lucky but Bayern will not be glad they drew Juve“, said Juventus ambassador Pavel Nedved.
“They [Kyiv] have a good side and it will be hard for us”.
First legs are scheduled to take place on 16-17 and 23-24 February with the return matches on 8th and 9th and 15th and 16th of March.
Still, there was one fresh look in the eight pairings as the two newcomers to the knockout rounds were drawn together: Gent will host VfL Wolfsburg first in Belgium.
PSG is reunited with Chelsea after beating the London side in last season’s competition, winning on away goals after a dramatic 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge followed a 1-1 draw in the French capital.