Messi to face old foes Real Madrid in UCL last 16

A surprise turn of events saw the initial last-16 draw declared void after what Uefa called a "technical error" involving Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United.

The re-draw took place three hours later after the original draw happened which saw PSG facing Real Madrid in the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16, arguably in the biggest clash of the draw. Real Madrid will perhaps feel the most aggrieved, they were drawn against Benfica in the morning but will now face PSG instead. The two European heavyweights will clash next year in the pick of the ties, with reigning champions Chelsea facing Lille. 

It was a case of deja vu for defending champions Chelsea, who were drawn against Lille in both the original and rescheduled draw.

Manchester United - who were originally against PSG - will face Atletico Madrid. United looked to have been offered the biggest reprieve after drawing PSG in the initial draw, but a meeting with Atletico in European competition since 1991 will still be a stern test for Ralf Rangnick's side.

Man City will be up against Sporting CP. City, last season's losing finalists, face Sporting for the first time since the two sides met in the Europa League nine years ago.

Elsewhere, Liverpool's reward for becoming the first English side to win all six Champions League group games is a tie with Inter, who won Serie A last season and currently top the table after 17 games.

The draw for the last 16 had to be redrawn after a mistake resulted in the original ties being declared null and void. There was some initial confusion when it was stated during the redraw that Villarreal could only face Juventus, despite Liverpool still being in the pot of group winners. This was because Inter had not been drawn yet either, and the three group winners left were Juventus - another Serie A side - and Real Madrid, who they were in the same group with.

Manchester United were originally placed with Villarreal, however, this was an error as they were in the same group. They were then wrongly not included in the pot for the subsequent tie. PSG were then drawn with Man Utd - which would have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face off - however, the entire draw was cancelled and redrawn. 

Instead, Messi will renew rivalries with Real Madrid for the first time since leaving their Clasico foes Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer.

The knockout ties of the Champions League take place over two legs, with seeded teams at home in the second legs.

The last-16 ties will be split across different weeks, with the first legs taking place on 15-16 February and 22-23 February. The second legs are then on 8-9 March and 15-16 March.

The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final is on Friday, 18 March.

All of those still involved in the competition are looking to make their way to a final showdown at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg on May 28.

Although the Champions League rules have been enforced for years now, this time an important knockout rule has been changed. The so-called away goals rule has been removed, so ties level after 180 minutes will go to extra time irrespective of the number of goals each team has scored at home and away. If the teams still cannot be separated after the additional 30 minutes, the tie will go to a penalty shoot-out.