Champions League draw: Messi vs Ronaldo, Bayern against Atletico

As always, the Champions League Round 16 draw is full of excitement. Every year, one or two ties are considered Champions League derbies and today's draw was no exception. Atletico Madrid will play against Bayern Munich, while PSG will face Manchester United. Former Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin was conducting the draw, and the Round 16 pairs look like this:

Benfica - Real Madrid

Villarreal - Manchester City

Atletico Madrid - Bayern Munich

Salzburg - Liverpool

Inter Milan - Ajax Amsterdam

Sporting Lisabon - Juventus

Chelsea - Lille

PSG - Manchester United

The PSG - United draw is certainly the most interesting one, as the Red Devils will face a huge task since the Parisians are one of the favorites to win the tournament. On the other hand, PSG would have liked an easier opponent on their way to the final, and will be looking in envy to Chelsea and Liverpool, who drew against Lille and Salzburg. So, the two best players in the world will meet again, just one year after they faced each other while Lionel Messi was with Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo was in Juventus. The pair played against each other in the group stage but only in the second match, when Barcelona was hosting Juventus and lost the game 3-0 at Nou Camp. when Ronaldo scored two goal from penalties. Overall, these two football legends have met in 36 previous games, with Messi finishing on the winning side 16 times compared to Ronaldo's 11, with Messi also having 22 goals to Ronaldo's 21 in those matches. It will be also an interesting trip back to England for PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was heavily linked (and still is) for the United managerial post.

The other interesting thing about this draw was than an error occurred during the ceremony, when initially Villarreal were paired with Manchester United. That off course, was not possible, since both teams already played each other in the group stage, so Arshavin took another swing and this time paired the Spanish team with Manchester CIty. It certainly won' be appreciated by Villarreal coach Unai Emery.

Another derby match in the last 16 round will be between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. Bayern have faced the Madrid club eight times previously, with the first coming back in the final of the 1973/74 European Cup. The Munich side won that 4-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time in their history. The Bavarians have won all three home games against Atletico by an aggregate score of 7-1, including 4-0 in last season’s group stage. The results in Spain have been two 1-0 defeats and a 1-1 draw last year.

The draw took place on Monday 13 December in Nyon, Switzerland. There were 16 teams in contention and the clubs which finished top in their group were seeded, and couldn't be drawn against each other. Also, clubs from the same country cannot play against each other, while in the Last 16 rounds, clubs cannot face opponents they met during the group stage. Ties will take place over two legs, with seeded teams at home in the second legs. The first legs are scheduled for 15-16 and 22-23 February, with the second legs on 8-9 and 15-16 March. The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be on Friday 18 March.