The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League took place at UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland on Monday.
It served up a few exciting clashes with Chelsea v Barcelona, Real Madrid v PSG and Juventus v Tottenham the chief among them.
Here’s a look at all the sides involved.
The draw for the #UCL last 16 has been made...
— Sport360° (@Sport360) December 11, 2017
Some very tasty ties! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YoeRGWIb2a
GROUP WINNERS
Coach: Ernesto Valverde
Star man: Lionel Messi
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015
The LaLiga leaders have shrugged off the loss of Neymar this season and came through Group D unbeaten to top the group above Juventus. They’re probably the last team Chelsea would have liked to face in the Round of 16.
The Messi-led Barcelona topped their group over Juventus.
BESIKTAS
Coach: Senol Gunes
Star man: Cenk Tosun
Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1987
Although they topped a relatively weak Group G ahead of Porto, the reigning Turkish champions have suffered indifferent form this season and sit fifth in the Super Lig table. Few clubs ever fancy an away trip to Istanbul, but there are far tougher teams you could pull out of the hat.
Coach: Jurgen Klopp
Star man: Mohamed Salah
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005
Liverpool romped to first place in Group E, scoring 23 goals as they ran up the score in big wins over Sevilla and Maribor. With an attacking unit including Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino there is no end of goals in this team, but their defensive vulnerabilities remain and may well be exposed as the standard of competition ramps up.
Liverpool have been banging in goals for fun with their attack.
MANCHESTER CITY
Coach: Pep Guardiola
Star man: Kevin De Bruyne
Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 2016
Guardiola’s team have been widely hailed as the best in Europe after a swashbuckling start to the Premier League season, and they cruised through Group F, winning their first five games before fielding a much-changed side away to Shakhtar Donetsk. But converting plaudits into silverware is the task ahead, and these relative Champions League novices still have plenty to prove.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Coach: Jose Mourinho
Star man: Paul Pogba
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1968, 1999, 2008
Mourinho’s men topped Group A with a mixture of silk and steel as they averaged two goals a game but conceded only three in all six outings. Key summer signing Nemanja Matic has added the missing teeth to United’s midfield to go with the goal threat of Romelu Lukaku and the fit-again Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
A Pogba inspired Manchester United can be a match for any team.
Coach: Unai Emery
Star man: Neymar
Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 1995
Paris St Germain have made little secret of the fact the Champions League is their number one priority, and with Ligue 1 appearing to take care of itself – they top the table by nine points – they will go all in. World-record signing Neymar has elevated their game considerably, but Edinson Cavani is keeping up in the scoring rates and they look extremely dangerous.
With Neymar leading the line, PSG will be one of the favourites.
ROMA
Coach: Eusebio Di Francesco
Star man: Edin Dzeko
Champions League/European Cup best: Runners-up 1984
With Edin Dzeko in the form of his life – the 31-year-old earned a Ballon d’Or nomination this year – Roma managed to edge out Chelsea to top Group C. They are far from the full package, but as Chelsea will attest from their 3-0 hiding in the Italian capital, they should not be underestimated.
TOTTENHAM
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
Star man: Harry Kane
Champions League/European Cup best: Semi-finals 1962
They may be struggling to match recent form in the Premier League, but Tottenham are having another coming-of-age season in the Champions League. Their 3-1 win over Real Madrid at Wembley felt like a huge moment, and it is a big achievement to top a group boasting both the current holders and Borussia Dortmund. Just how far can they go?
GROUP RUNNERS-UP
BASEL
Coach: Raphael Wicky
Star man: Dmitri Oberlin
Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1974
Basel impressed as they finished runners-up to Manchester United in Group A, beating Jose Mourinho’s side at home and putting five past Benfica. In Oberlin, the 20-year-old striker on loan from Red Bull Salzburg, they have one of the hottest young properties in European football.
BAYERN MUNICH
Coach: Jupp Heynckes
Star man: Robert Lewandowski
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013
After a slow start to the season Bayern are humming once more under Heynckes, the man who masterminded their last Champions League triumph in 2013. They could only finish runners-up in Group B behind Paris St Germain, but won five of their six group stage matches.
Bayern seem to be getting back to their best under Heynckes.
CHELSEA
Coach: Antonio Conte
Star man: Eden Hazard
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 2012
With their Premier League title defence faltering, Conte could be tempted to go all in on the Champions League. That said, after finishing runners-up in Group C, they now face Barcelona, which will be no easy task.
JUVENTUS
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri
Star man: Gianluigi Buffon
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1985, 1996
With Gianluigi Buffon seeking a fairytale ending to his career after three times suffering defeat in the Champions League final, Juve are once again leaning heavily on their defence. They kept clean sheets in three of their six group stage matches, including a goalless draw with group winners Barcelona.
Last season’s runner-up have it in them to go all the way.
PORTO
Coach: Sergio Conceicao
Star man: Vincent Aboubakar
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1987, 2004
Porto might be the kindest draw any of the group winners could hope for in the last 16. Runners-up in a weak Group G, they conceded almost two goals a game, and though striker Aboubakar has been in good form, they do not appear to have the weapons to go much further.
Coach: Zinedine Zidane
Star man: Cristiano Ronaldo
Champions League/European Cup best: Winners 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017
The back-to-back winners made a slow start to the season – made clear by the fact they remain fourth in LaLiga – but found their mojo in the Champions League, even if they had to settle for runners-up spot behind Tottenham in Group H. Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo scored nine goals in the six group matches and they remain as dangerous as they come.
The two-times defending champion have been handed a tough draw.
SEVILLA
Coach: Eduardo Berizzo
Star man: Wissam Ben Yedder
Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 1958
Sevilla won only two of their Group E fixtures but got through on the back of being hard to beat – all except for the complete aberration which was their 5-1 loss to Spartak Moscow in October. That exposed their key weakness – although they can score plenty, they struggle to keep the back door closed, and kept just one clean sheet against lowly Maribor.
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Coach: Paulo Fonseca
Star man: Bernard
Champions League/European Cup best: Quarter-finals 2011
Manchester City were always favourites in Group F but Napoli were supposed to follow them through. Shakhtar had other ideas and immediately tore up the script by beating the Italians in their opening match. By the time they wrapped up the group by beating a much-changed City side, Fonseca had to fulfil a promise to turn up to his press conference dressed as Zorro.
