After a massive scandal which saw UEFA cancelling the Champions League draw due to three errors during the process, the European football governing body arranged another draw, this time for 17h, and this time the results are different, but for somebody still the same.A SCANDAL: The Champions League last 16 to be re-drawn!After the first draw, Real Madrid (who has been drawn first) was paired with Benfica, after which a first error in the process occurred. And now, the UEFA blunder gave the Royal club the toughest draw – a pairing with one of the favorites for the title – Paris Saint Germain, led by Lionel Messi! Real Madrid thought that a renewal of the draw was ‘scandal’. since both the balls of the rivals Benfica and Real Madrid were paired correctly. UEFA, however, said that the draw was not carried out correctly from the beginning and that it must be repeated in its entirety. We can only imagine how will Real react now….CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND 16:Salzburg vs Bayern MunichSporting Lisbon vs Manchester CityBenfica – AjaxChelsea – LilleAtletico Madrid – Manchester United Villarreal – JuventusInter – Liverpool PSG – Real MadridBut not only Real were damaged by the outcome of the renewed draw: Inter Milan is now pared with in-form Liverpool, which is a much tougher draw then against Ajax, while Atletico Madrid swamped Bayern Munich with Manchester United. Salzburg and Lille are probably the unluckiest teams right now, as they both got tough opponents in both draws: Lille is matches (again) Chelsea, while Salzburg got Bayern Munich, which is as tough as Liverpool in the canceled draw. 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.MORE TO FOLLOW…
