That’s all for our coverage of today’s European draws. Now for the long wait in anticipation of AEK Larnaca’s mouthwatering clash with Dnipro-1.
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Europa Conference League playoff draw in full
Right, so: Qarabag v Gent, Trabzonspor v Basel, Lazio v CFR Cluj, Bodø/Glimt v Lech Poznan, Braga v Fiorentina, AEK Larnaca v Dnipro-1, Sheriff v Partizan, Ludogorets v Anderlecht.
Here’s some additional reporting on the Europa League playoff draw, just in case you’re still salivating at the prospect of United travelling to Camp Nou.
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The Europa Conference League playoff draw is up next. Hang about for the full rundown. Who will Ludogorets play? What about Qarabag? The excitement is too much!
Manchester United’s recent record against Barça is uncannily similar to Liverpool’s against Real Madrid, with defeats in two Champions League finals. As per Opta:
4 - Barcelona have won their last four games against Manchester United, including both Champions League finals (2-0 in 2009 and 3-1 in 2011), having won just one of their previous eight meetings in European competitions (D4 L3). Memories. pic.twitter.com/HMJSyL1VYN
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 7, 2022
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Xavi has heard the news. He has some thoughts, which he has expressed concisely here.
🎙 Xavi's first words about Barça being paired with Manchester United in the Europa League pic.twitter.com/Ljme43LwnS
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 7, 2022
Analysis
Erik ten Hag is having a nice, gentle first season as Manchester United manager, isn’t he? United have got arguably the toughest draw possible against Barcelona, who for all their financial instability off the pitch still have Robert Lewandowski up front, two young geniuses in Pedri and Gavi, plus a certain Frenkie de Jong in midfield.
There’ll be bucketloads of De Jong narrative after Ten Hag’s failed pursuit of his former Ajax protege in the summer. There will be other familiar faces, likewise, with Barça able to field practically a whole team of ex-Premier League players in Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen, Eric García, Raphinha, Héctor Bellerín and Ferran Torres. García and Torres both joined Barça from Manchester City, so expect a bit of desultory Manchester derby talk before the match. All those subplots aside, it should be a really fun tie.
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Europa League playoff draw in full
So, to recap: Barcelona v Manchester United, Juventus v Nantes, Sporting CP v Midtjylland, Shakhtar Donetsk v Rennes, Ajax v Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen v Monaco, Sevilla v PSV, Salzburg v Roma.
Finally, Salzburg are drawn against … Roma!
The penultimate tie will feature Sevilla against … PSV Eindhoven!
Another Bundesliga team will be involved in the next tie, namely Bayer Leverkusen. They will play … Monaco!
Ajax are the next side to emerge from the bowl. They will play … Union Berlin!
Who will be drawn against the mighty Shakhtar Donetsk? It’s … Rennes!
Sporting CP have a date with destiny. They will play … Midtjylland!
Juventus are next to emerge from the pot. They will face … Nantes!
It's Manchester United v Barcelona!
Right, here we go. First up we have Barcelona, who will play … Manchester United! Phwoar.
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Zoltan Gera is here to help with the draw. A hero of Fulham’s 2009-10 Europa League campaign. Diego Forlán, how could you?
Teams in the Europa League playoff draw
Europa League group stage runners-up: PSV, Roma, Manchester United, Nantes, Rennes, Union Berlin, FC Midtjylland, Monaco.
Champions League group stage third-placed teams: Ajax, Barcelona, Salzburg, Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus.
A reminder of how this works. The eight runners-up from the Europa League group stage will contest a knockout playoff against the eight third-placed sides from the Champions League group stage. Once again, teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other.
Ah, the soaring strings and harmonised vocals of the Europa League anthem. Now for some more interminable build-up.
The Europa League playoff draw is coming up next, so stick with us. It’s scheduled to begin at midday.
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We’ve got some more reporting on the draw here. Just in case you really hate live blogs.
Great minds. Admir Pajic writes in: “Perhaps Milan and Tottenham may arrange round two between Joe Jordan and Gennaro Gattuso.”
Analysis
Liverpool will play their 10th and 11th games against Real Madrid in Europe, having been drawn against their old foes once more. They have faced them four times in the last four years alone, twice in finals, losing three of those matches and drawing one, but now have a chance to avenge their gut-wrenching defeats in Kyiv and, more recently, Paris.
Manchester City played Leipzig at the group stage last season, winning 6-3 at the Etihad but contriving to lose 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena. According to Opta they have lost only one of their last 17 matches against German sides in the Champions League, with that defeat against Leipzig the only blemish on their long unbeaten record.
Chelsea have never played Dortmund before, making their tie particularly unpredictable. They have two Westfalenstadion alumni in their ranks in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic, so they should at least have some close insight on their opponents.
Tottenham, meanwhile, will face Milan for the first time since their infamous last-16 clash in 2011. Someone get Joe Jordan on the blower. Things are about to get tasty.
Here’s a good stat from Opta. Rest easy, Spurs fans.
10 – Tottenham’s Antonio Conte has won more matches in all competitions against Milan than he has versus any other side in his managerial career. Edge. #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/KQjnODzpLu
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 7, 2022
Yash Gupta writes in: “Looking forward to a titanic clash between Rafael Leão and Emerson Royal (sorry Emerson) and Davinson Sánchez. Perfect draw except the drab affair between Man City and Leipzig.”
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Champions League last-16 draw in full
So, here are the last-16 ties: Leipzig v Manchester City, Club Brugge v Benfica, Liverpool v Real Madrid, Milan v Tottenham, Frankfurt v Napoli, Dortmund v Chelsea, Internazionale v Porto, PSG v Bayern Munich.
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Last and possibly least, PSG will face … Bayern!
The penultimate draw is made and Internazionale will play … Porto!
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But what about Dortmund? They will contest an epic clash against … Chelsea!
Frankfurt are next to discover their fate. They are drawn against … Napoli!
Milan leap out of the bowl. They will play… Tottenham!
The next ball is unscrewed and Liverpool emerge. Jürgen Klopp’s side will face … Real Madrid! Again!
Next up, Club Brugge. They’re drawn against … Benfica!
Leipzig are drawn first. They’ll play … Manchester City!
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OK, here we go. The build-up is finally over and the balls have been thoroughly jumbled. Let’s do this.
Now they’ve wheeled out Hamit Altintop, the former Bayern, Real and Galatasaray midfielder. Why? It’s the Champions League draw. Don’t ask why.
Giorgio Marchetti is here. He’s ageless, the guy. Not a single additional wrinkle. It must be the fresh air on Lake Geneva or something.
A montage of goals drifts past, soundtracked by some minimalist dance music. So far, so Uefa.
Ah, that sweet, familiar sound. The Champions League anthem blares out, which can mean only one thing. The draw has begun. Now, for the interminable build-up.
Teams in the draw by country
In another big win for The Best League In The World, all four Premier League sides have made it to the knockouts. That makes England the best represented country in the last 16 along with Germany, with four Bundesliga sides – Bayern, Dortmund, Frankfurt and Leipzig – also in the hat.
Only three Italian sides – Napoli, Internazionale and Milan – have made it this far, with Juventus crashing out at the group stage. Portugal has two sides left in Porto and Benfica, while Spain, surprisingly, has only one in Real, with Sevilla, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid all falling short. France has one representative in PSG, while Club Brugge are Belgium’s sole contender.
Representing 🏴#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/UGYv6EfuQV
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 7, 2022
While we’re waiting, why not read our 10 talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action? No 10 is particularly insightful and funny.
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Here’s a fun throwback: remember last year, when Uefa messed up the Champions League draw and had to redo it? You had one job, Giorgio Marchetti! One job!
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Permutations
It wouldn’t be a Champions League draw live blog without The Permutations™, would it? So who can each of the English teams, our brave boys, be drawn against?
Chelsea finished top of Group E, recovering from a shock defeat against Dinamo Zagreb and a draw against Atlético Caffeine – sorry, Red Bull Salzburg – to win their last four European fixtures on the bounce. As such, they will be drawn against one of Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Eintracht Frankfurt, Internazionale, PSG or RB Leipzig. They can’t be drawn against Liverpool or Milan, the former on account of their mutual Englishness and the latter on account of having already spanked them twice in the group.
Moving on to Liverpool, who finished second to an extremely spicy Napoli side in Group A. They will be drawn against one of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Porto or Real Madrid, meaning we could see a rematch of last year’s final.
Manchester City, who topped Group G undefeated, can be drawn against the same sides as Chelsea, minus Dortmund and plus Milan. Last but not least, Tottenham, who squeaked into top spot in Group D, can be drawn against any of the runners-up other than Liverpool and Frankfurt.
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Preamble
Good morning! The draw for the Champions League last 16 is coming up in an hour (or thereabouts). The eight group winners will be seeded, and will each be drawn against a runner-up. Teams from the same country or group cannot be paired together, but otherwise it’s an open draw. Here are the teams:
Seeded (group winners): Napoli, Porto, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Benfica.
Unseeded (runners-up): Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Eintracht Frankfurt, Internazionale, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig.
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