Sports
0

UEFA Round of 16 Draw Made

UEFA Round of 16 Draw Made
UEFA Round of 16 Draw Made

The draw for the UEFA Europa League round of 16 took place in the House of European Football, Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.

According to EUFA.com, sixteen teams namely, Lazio and AC Milan from Italy, French clubs Marseille and Lyon, German pair Leipzig and Dortmund, three Russian clubs CSKA Moscow, Zenit and Lokomotiv Moscow, Spanish teams Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, as well as Arsenal, Salzburg, Viktoria Plzen, Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kyiv from England, Austria, Czech, Portugal and Ukraine respectively were the teams at round of 16 draw.

Former Barcelona team member and three-time Champions League winner Eric Abidal performed the draw.

It was an open draw, so there was no seeding. Just based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, teams from Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn together, Reuters reported.

Seven-time European champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in the standout last-16 tie. It will be the first time the two clubs have met since Milan won 4-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League quarterfinals in 2012 where it lost to Barcelona.

Spanish favorite Atletico Madrid takes on Lokomotiv Moscow while Lazio will face Dinamo Kiev.

Borussia Dortmund, another club having to settle for Europe’s secondary club competition after falling out of the Champions League, faces FC Salzburg.

Lyon, whose ground will host the final, plays CSKA Moscow while former European champions Marseille faces Athletic Bilbao.

The remaining two ties are Leipzig against Zenit and Sporting Lisbon versus Viktoria Plzen.

 Toughest Clash

Although Milan, playing in Europe after a three-year absence, has improved under former player Gennaro Gattuso who has taken them on an 11-match unbeaten run, the team is adrift in the race for Champions League places, lying seventh in Serie A.

Arsenal, which failed to qualify for the Champions League this season for the first time in 20 years, looks unlikely to get back in via a top-four finish in the Premier League.

With a Champions League spot up for grabs for the Europa League winners, the clash between the two powerhouses takes on added significance.

The six previous matches between the sides have seen both win twice, Arsenal prevailing 3-0 in the most recent clash at The Emirates having lost 4-0 in the San Siro in the first leg of their 2012 Champions League tie.

The first leg of the games in round of 16 will take place on March 8 and the second leg is slated for March 15.

 

Add new comment

Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints

Financialtribune.com