The Champions League round-of-16 draw was redone on Monday, with Paris Saint-Germain to face Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid paired with Manchester United.
UEFA confirmed that a “clerical error” occurred where United were mistakenly omitted as potential opponents for Atletico in the original draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had been set for another Champions League showdown as, during Monday’s initial draw, United were eventually paired with PSG, having earlier erroneously been placed as opponents for Villarreal, who they could not meet having been in the same group as Unai Emery’s side.
Atletico will now face United, having been drawn against Bayern Munich in the void draw, while the German champions will now face FC Salzburg.
Inter, who had been drawn against Ajax, will in fact face Liverpool. Chelsea and Lille were paired together in both draws. Juventus will now face Villarreal, Manchester City are up against Sporting CP and Benfica were paired with Ajax.
Group winners will be away in the first leg, with ties to be played on Feb. 15-16 and Feb. 22-23. Return legs will be played on March 8-9 and March 15-16.
The away goals rule has also been abolished in European tournament knockout ties this season. The rule, which had been in place since 1965, was used to determine a winner when teams were level on aggregate after a two-legged match.
The team that had scored more goals as the away side were awarded the victory. But from now, this will be replaced by extra time and penalties. UEFA will draw the quarterfinal and semi-final ties on the same day for this season, scheduled for March 18. The final will take place on Saturday, May 28, at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Round-of-16 draw
FC Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich
Sporting CP vs. Manchester City
Benfica vs. Ajax
Chelsea vs. Lille
Atletico Madrid vs. Manchester United
Villarreal vs. Juventus
Inter vs. Liverpool
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid
