After a scintillating week of domestic football, the entire attention shifted to the Champions League draw today. The draw was conducted in Switzerland and there was an immense amount of suspense surrounding it. History is in the making, as all the five English clubs have qualified for the knockout stages and hence it was interesting to see who was drawn against whom.
The whole aura was broken when Pedro Pinto started taking out names from both the jars and, believe it or not, it surely spiked some heartbeats in the room.
Both the Manchester clubs got relatively easy draws as Jose Mourinho will now prepare his side to face Sevilla come February. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola would have chuckled after he saw his team being drawn against FC Basel.
With the kind of form that Manchester City are in this season, Pep would be confident of his team defeating an All-Star XI too:
So….
We face @FC_Basel_en in the last 16 of the @ChampionsLeague !
Happy with that Citizens??#ChampionsLeagueDraw
— Read Man City (@ReadManCity) December 11, 2017
However, North London will be sweating over their new opponents now. Tottenham Hotspur brushed aside Real Madrid as if they never existed in the group stages. Anyways, after a rather barren run post the Madrid win, Pochettino’s team will face Juventus this time around:
???#Juve and #Spurs meet for the first time in the history of competitive European games.#UCLDraw #UCL pic.twitter.com/4wvk3YUPoO
— Arjun Pradeep (@IndianRegista) December 11, 2017
Now, it is West London that is readying itself for a cracker of a contest this time. Chelsea, under Conte, have been ordinary in the Champions League. So, it would not have been a surprise had they preferred an easier opponent today. But, fate, as always had different plans and so Chelsea will face FC Barcelona in the Round of 16.
Wondering whether Hazard will finally prove if he is as good as the divine duo of Messi-Ronaldo?
So Antonio Conte is not afraid of any team??? Well Christmas came early for Barcelona!! ??
Chelsea vs Barcelona.
— Ayomide (@Ayomidemuizz) December 11, 2017
It’s never easy forming your team to face Lionel Messi & Co, is it?
#Chelsea‘s formation against #Barcelona #Barca in its next #ChampsLeague match leaks. #UCLDraw #ChampionsLeagueDraw pic.twitter.com/WPiJ8qEzZ7
— #LiverpoolFc (@Afunah_DxTTN) December 11, 2017
Jurgen Klopp faced some respite too as his side is drawn to FC Porto. Given Liverpool’s ability to give up leads against any team (remember Sevilla, anyone?), Liverpool’s fans had to rely on the past magic of Stevie G and Fernando Torres to react to the draw.
Learn something from your predecessors, will you?
Liverpool 4-1 Porto. The last time we played Porto was in the Champions League 2007. ? #LFC
How good was Torres in his prime? Unstoppable. ⚽️ #ChampionsLeagueDraw pic.twitter.com/rOHefxHKUo
— LFCinema (@LFCinema) December 11, 2017
However, it was the biggest clash of the round that caught everyone’s attention. The big spenders PSG will be lining up against defending Champions, Real Madrid in THE tie of the round.
Neymar vs Ronaldo
Cavani vs (ehh, it’s difficult to find a firing forward from the Los Blancos nowadays, right?)
Actually, I didn’t want to compare Cavani with a striker who wakes up once in a season to deliver a match-winning performance these days!
Real Madrid Vs PSG.!!! Gonna be an epic clash #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/GC6QLK9Cwr
— Anup (@anup_jeppu) December 11, 2017
Everything is done and dusted, still, our very own Twiterrati never fail to take a dig at the Gunners!
The Champions League Draw is underway, and the first team out… #ChampionsLeagueDraw pic.twitter.com/ARPTcYuZiI
— BigSport (@BigSportGB) December 11, 2017
That’s it from our side! Take it with a pinch of salt, will you?
