With AC Milan in the runner-up pot, the odds of a high-profile matchup in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League were quite high. As it turns out, the draw did not disappoint.
Arsenal got paired with Milan during Friday's Champions League draw, setting the stage for an intriguing battle in the tournament's Round of 16. The two met in this round of the 2007-2008 Champions League as well, with Arsenal moving on to the quarterfinals. The other remaining English competitor, Chelsea, will also face a high-powered Italian side after drawing Napoli.
As for the two Spanish powerhouses, defending champion Barcelona must face Bayer Leverkusen as the next step in its quest to repeat, while Real Madrid drew CSKA Moscow.
Here are all of the Champions League knockout pairings:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT PAIRINGS (group winners listed first)
Arsenal vs. AC Milan
Chelsea vs. Napoli
Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow
Bayern Munich vs. FC Basel
APOEL Nicosia vs. Lyon
Benfica vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
Inter Milan vs. Marseille
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What do you think of the draw? Do you see any group runners-up pulling off the upset? Who do you see winning the Arsenal-AC Milan matchup?
Share your thoughts below.
Premier League might be out after this round!
With Arsenal’s recent run I am confident
I also viewed APOEL as a cupcake until they won the group that included three Europea league winners. They finished ahead of Porto, Zenit and Shakhtar.
3 Italian teams make it in. Time to change the coefficient again please…
No way Chelsea gets past Napoli…
Barca gets a very easy game as always.
They redraw for the quarterfinals
You see I’d put it the other way — APOEL got lucky. They may not have the flashy names of Lyon but truth be told they aren’t a fluke. APOEL, over the last 3-4 years, has specifically built a team capable of advancing deep into the CL. Lyon is good but nowhere near their past teams of the 2003-2008 era.
So much remains to be seen, including will Drogba still be with Chelsea. If not, I’d make Napoli a strong favorite to move on. Milan looks like the should be favored over Arsenal. Bad news for the English.
In the long run, it doesn’t matter — the 3 strongest teams got good draws. So long as they don’t have to play each other in the next round, Barca, Madrid and Bayern should make the semis. Milan could trouble a team like Madrid or Bayern, but the big 3 are the big 3 for a reason. They are a cut above the other teams because they are more well-rounded.
rough rough draw for EPL teams but kinda awesome epl/serie a showdown. entirely possible that no epl teams make it to the quarters.
Napoli upsets Chelsea
Does this mean that Madrid and Barca will play next round? or does it redraw or something?
United had it “easy” too.
Now they’re playing in Europa League against Ajax…
just saying, this is Champions League.
AC vs Arsenal seems to be the best match to watch. Followed by Barca vs Leverkeusen and Chelsea vs Napoli
Lyon got lucky.
Don’t forget the 2 French teams and the 2 Russian teams and in the case of the Russians, they’ve been doing this on a regular basis the past few years but somehow we in the west don’t talk about it as much as we should. If Barca were a team made of mortals this would be an open tournament but in my opinion this is their tourney to lose.
Not often you only see two teams from England, Spain and Germany, while Italy has three.
As a neutral watching Italia vs. England is gonna be good.
Inter/Marseille will be tasty, as will Benfica/Zenit. Would not put it past APOEL to beat Lyon. Bayern and Madrid got it easy – Barca a little tougher, but doable.