PSG had first of all been paired together with Manchester United however the transformed draw sees them play Real at the same time as the Old Trafford facet will face Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.
UEFA had in advance blamed a "cloth blunders" because of a "technical problem with the software of an external carrier provider" because it introduced that the draw for the primary knockout round of its flagship competition could have to be redone. With the draw being streamed stay from UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the hassle became made evident whilst Manchester United's name became drawn to face Villarreal, despite the truth the 2 clubs couldn't have performed each other having been within the same institution.
Record 13-time European champions Real are not going to be satisfied with the brand new draw as they'd to begin with been paired with Benfica in the very first tie before the problems happened -- a conflict with the PSG of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is, on paper, a far more difficult tie. Liverpool face a comparable scenario. Having to start with been drawn against knockout-phase debutants Red Bull Salzburg of Austria, they now face three-time former winners Inter, the Serie A champions and modern Italian league leaders.
Salzburg instead got Bayern Munich, whilst Manchester City take on Sporting Lisbon and Benfica will play Ajax. Villarreal face Juventus, whilst the one tie in the unique, botched draw that become repeated later sees reigning champions Chelsea face French name-holders Lille.
The first legs might be performed in the 2nd half of February with second legs in early March. This season's Champions League final will be played inside the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on May 28.
