Champions League Draw 2017-18: Schedule of Dates for Round-of-16 Fixtures
December 11, 2017
Real Madrid will face Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 following Monday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Chelsea have been handed a tricky tie against Barcelona, while Juventus will take on Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have been drawn against Sevilla.
Elsewhere, Liverpool will play Porto, and Bayern Munich will test their mettle against Besiktas.
Here are the ties in full:
Juventus vs. *Tottenham Hotspur
Basel vs. *Manchester City
FC Porto vs. *Liverpool
Sevilla vs. *Manchester United
Real Madrid vs. *Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. *Roma
Chelsea vs. *Barcelona
Bayern Munich vs. *Besiktas
*Indicates group winners
Group winners will be away in the first legs of the round of 16, which will take place on February 13/14 and 20/21, and host the runners-up in the second legs on March 6/7 and 13/14. The tournament's official Twitter feed provided the dates for the specific ties:
English Teams Make Champions League History
The Premier League has achieved a first in the Champions League by boasting five representatives in the knockout stage of the competition.
Four of the five—United, Spurs, Liverpool and City—all won their groups, with Chelsea the only side to fail in that endeavour.
As football writers Graeme Bailey and Grant Wahl noted, it's a remarkable achievement:
The five sides produced 80 goals between them in their 30 group stage games, with Liverpool setting an English record with 23 of them. All teams suffered just three defeats in total.
However, it will mean relatively little if none of the sides are able to go deep into the competition—something Premier League teams have routinely struggled to do in recent years.
City have received perhaps the most favourable draw to allow them to at least reach the quarter-finals, while Chelsea have paid the price for not winning their group by drawing Barcelona.
The Blues are the last English team to have won the competition having done so in 2013, and while they produced some mixed performances in the group stage, Barca will also have been hoping to avoid them.
Goal's Nizaar Kinsella believes Chelsea have a decent chance of going through despite the draw, while ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan is excited to see how they measure up:
Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse believes La Liga's representatives will not be happy at the prospect of playing United, Chelsea and PSG:
City will perhaps be the most intriguing English team to keep an eye on during the knockout phase, with the Sky Blues facing the challenge of replicating their domestic dominance on the European stage.
The Citizens are 11 points clear in the Premier League, and if the gap is at a similar level when the Champions League returns in February, they'll perhaps be able to put even more focus into progressing.
Having received a relatively favourable draw, Pep Guardiola's side should expect to reach the quarter-finals without too much difficulty.
Spurs can count themselves somewhat unfortunate to draw Juve—who have contested the final in two of the last three years—having won a group that included Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. But after overcoming those two sides, they should feel confident in their ability to cause the Serie A champions some problems.
The most exciting tie is Madrid taking on PSG. BT Sport's Jules Breach shared the reaction to the clash on social media:
PSG racked up 25 goals in the group stage, which included a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich, but ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson believes they'll be unhappy with the draw:
Jonathan Johnson @Jon_LeGossipThe worst possible draw for PSG on paper. Personally, I think it is a good test & that a tough draw was needed. Also, I think it shows why Bayern Munich away was a bigger deal than many suggested. Unai Emery has plenty of work to do between now & February. #UCLDraw #UCL
Indeed, the Ligue 1 outfit have shown their ambition to win the Champions League with the recruitment of stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and they'll have been hoping to avoid a team of Madrid's stature until later in the tournament having won their group.
It will be a fascinating test of where Les Parisiens are at in regards to fulfilling that target, and it should prove to be a thrilling tie over the two legs.