Champions City to play Copenhagen in last 16

Holders Manchester City were handed a tie against FC Copenhagen in Monday’s draw for the Champions League last 16, from which the meeting of last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid appears the standout tie.
Pep Guardiola’s City, who are looking to retain the title they won in Istanbul last June, will be expected to comfortably get the better of the Danish side, who qualified from their group at the expense of Manchester United after beating the Red Devils 4-3 at home.
The clubs met in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, with City winning 5-0 at home before being held to a 0-0 draw away at the Parken Stadium.
The first leg will be among the first to be played, taking place in Denmark on February 13, with the return in England on March 6. Inter, the Serie A leaders, were one of the teams to avoid after finishing second in their group and their meeting with Atletico will see Diego Simeone, the coach of the Spanish club, come up against a team with whom he spent two years as a player in the late 1990s.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have gone out in the last 16 in each of the last two seasons and in five of the last seven campaigns, were also braced for a tough draw having come second in their group behind Borussia Dortmund.
They will therefore be relieved at being handed a tie against Real Sociedad, who topped their section above Inter but are appearing in the Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2003/04, when they were knocked out by Lyon.
Barcelona’s meeting with Italian champions Napoli is another standout tie, while Premier League leaders Arsenal will be expected to get the better of Porto and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010. “We want to try and go as far as possible, but we are very much concentrating on playing well, performing well and playing the best football we can, and then we’ll see how far we go,” Arsenal’s sporting director, Edu, told the club’s website.
Sergio Conceicao’s Porto finished level on points with Barcelona in their group but were ranked in second place after losing both meetings with the Catalans. Real Madrid will be heavily fancied against RB Leipzig, and Bayern Munich will be strong favourites against Lazio, a team they beat 6-2 on aggregate at the same stage of the competition in 2020/21.
“We’ve had positive experiences with Lazio before,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer. “We’ll go into the games as favourite but we won’t allow ourselves to underestimate them.”
The other tie sees Dortmund come up against PSV Eindhoven, who are coached by former Borussia manager Peter Bosz and are through to the last 16 for the first time in eight years. All first legs will take place in mid-February with all return matches in March. This season’s Champions League final will be staged at Wembley in London on June 1.
Roma and Feyenoord to meet
again in Europa League
Last season’s Europa League runners-up Roma will meet Feyenoord in a third campaign in a row after the teams were drawn together in the knockout round play-offs. Jose Mourinho’s side beat Feyenoord in the final of the inaugural Europa Conference League in Tirana in 2022, and then came out on top in the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League, en route to losing the final on penalties to Sevilla.
The knockout round play-offs see the teams who came third in their Champions League groups face off against the runners-up from the Europa League group stage. The winners will advance to the last 16, where they will join the eight group winners. Reigning Dutch title-holders Feyenoord dropped out of the Champions League after coming third in a group behind Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
AC Milan, who finished third in their Champions League group behind Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain and ahead of Newcastle United, were drawn against French club Rennes. Shakhtar Donetsk, who won the UEFA Cup in 2009, will take on Marseille, the Europa League runners-up in 2018.
The ties will be played in February, before the last 16 in March, which will feature three Premier League clubs in Liverpool, West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion. Rangers, Atalanta, Villarreal, Slavia Prague and Bayer Leverkusen are also already through to the last 16. This season’s Europa League final will be played in Dublin on May 22.
Champions League
last 16 draw
FC Porto (POR) v Arsenal (ENG)
Napoli (ITA) v Barcelona (ESP)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Real Sociedad (ESP)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
PSV Eindhoven (NED) v Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Lazio (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER)
FC Copenhagen (DEN) v Manchester City (ENG)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)
First legs to be played on February 13/14/20/21; second legs to be played on March 5/6/12/13
Europa League knockout play-offs
Feyenoord (NED) v Roma (ITA)
AC Milan (ITA) v Rennes (FRA)
Lens (FRA) v Freiburg (GER)
Young Boys (SUI) v Sporting (POR)
Benfica (POR) v Toulouse (FRA)
Braga (POR) v Qarabag (AZE)
Galatasaray (TUR) v Sparta Prague (CZE)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Marseille (FRA)
First legs to be played February 15, second legs on February 22
Europa Conference League
knockout round play-offs drawSturm Graz (AUT) v Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Servette (SUI) v Ludogorets (BUL)
Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) v Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
Real Betis (ESP) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Olympiakos (GRE) v Ferencvaros (HUN)
Ajax (NED) v Bodo/Glimt (NOR)
Molde (NOR) v Legia Warsaw (POL)
Maccabi Haifa (ISR) v Gent (BEL)
First legs to be played February 15, second legs February 22