Champions League last-16 draw and Europa League round-of-32 draw – as it happened

That’s all from me, with this bumper edition of European club football draws. Some tough fixtures out there for many of the English sides, which should make for entertaining watching. See you in February for MORE FOOTBALL. Bye!

Fair play, this is next level admin.

Arsenal have only faced Benfica once before in competitive competition: the second round of the 1991 European Cup. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg and a 1-1 after 90 minutes at Highbury, Benfica (and Isaías in particular) turned it on in extra time, with Benfica winning 3-1. It also features one of the worst misses I’ve ever seen, from Tony Adams.

Also a chance for Adnan Januzaj and David Silva to get one over their old team/rivals.

Particularly looking forward to Real Sociedad v Manchester United aka The David Moyes Derby.

It’s been announced that Tottenham’s tie will actually take place on the 24 February at 5pm GMT – a day earlier than the rest of the ties – because of “the city clash with Arsenal.” Arsenal will be at home on 25th Feb for the second leg. Weird.

Maniche, the former Porto, Atlético and Chelsea player is here for the draw. He won what was then the Uefa Cup in 2003 with Porto, before going on to win the Champions League a year later under José Mourinho.

In the round of 32, the first legs will be played 18 February, with the second legs a week later.

How the draw will work

• The clubs will be split into two pots, with the 12 group winners and the four best third-ranked teams in the Champions League group stage all seeded.
• The seeded teams are at home in the second legs.
• No team can play a club from their Europa League group or a side from the same national association.
• Based on the decision taken by the Uefa Executive Committee, teams from Russia and Ukraine cannot be drawn together.

Anyway, on to the real draw: the Europa League draw will be coming your way at midday GMT. So in about 10 minutes!

We can’t talk about Barcelona v PSG without talking about 2017. The greatest European comeback of all time, La Remontada, with PSG going into the second leg 4-0 up …

So, a lot to unpack. It’s a decent draw for Manchester City, even if Mönchengladbach’s Alassane Pléa and Marcus Thuram did look dangerous in the group stage.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool will have been hoping for easier draws. For Chelsea, Atlético, who have a knack under Diego Simeone of being a tricky team over two legs. I have to say that I fancy the Spanish side in that one.

For Liverpool, RB Leipzig. Liverpool are obviously one of the strongest teams in the competition, but we all know RB Leipzig are no mugs. Semi-finalists last year and a match for anybody.

The biggest tie is, of course, Barcelona v PSG. There are lots of question marks over that one. Who will be injured? Will Lionel Messi even still be at Barça? Remember the cup-tied rules do not apply now. Will Ronald Koeman or Thomas Tuchel still be in their respective jobs?

Here we go!

Stéphane Chapuisat, the Swiss striker and former Champions League winner in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund, will assist with the draw.

This is the first time that Borussia Mönchengladbach have made it through to this stage of the Champions League. They had an anxious wait to find out if they had qualified, but did so after Inter and Shakhtar drew 0-0. They watched that game on a tablet on the pitch after their own 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the final round of game.

There are no delegations from the clubs at the draw in Nyon due to Covid, so there will be no screenshots of club directors wincing or smiling smugly.

Anyway, on to the draw. It’s time.

I spoke to Neil Ruddock recently, and one of the stories he told (which I didn’t include) was how Houllier revolutionised the club. When the Frenchman arrived in 1998, Liverpool’s squad were still known as the Spice Boys, and misbehaviour was rife. Ruddock played his part in that.

Houllier initially shared the management of the team with Roy Evans. According to Ruddock, on one pre-season tour, Houllier banned the squad from going out drinking, and told them to stay tucked up in the hotel. Various members sneaked out to go disco dancing in their snazzy shirts, and got the lift down to reception. As the doors opened, Houllier was there and caught the players (and Roy Evans!) red handed. Evans and Ruddock didn’t last long at the club after that.

It’s a funny story (sort of) but an important point: he changed the culture of the club. By 2001, Liverpool were no longer the Spice Boys, they were winning things again. And there wouldn’t have been the success of later years without Gérard Houllier.

You can read more here:

What a final that was, by the way.

We’re not going to have any more Champions League until mid-February. Specifically, the first round-of-16 ties begin on the 16th February, with the quarter finals beginning on the 6 April, the semis on the 27 April and the final on the 29 May, which is due to take place at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

A few of you might remember that stadium …

The draw kicks off around 11am GMT. If you support and English team and the blurb below looks a little confusing on a Monday, here are the teams that could potentially be coming your way.

Liverpool: Atlético Madrid, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Porto, Sevilla, Lazio, Barcelona or RB Leipzig.

Chelsea: Atlético Madrid, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Porto, Atalanta, Lazio, Barcelona or RB Leipzig.

Manchester City: Atlético Madrid, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Atalanta, Sevilla, Lazio, Barcelona or RB Leipzig.