Real draw Madrid derby in Champions League; Liverpool face PSG

When the round of 16 draw was held in Nyon, Switzerland, heavyweight matches have been more common in the Champions League.

Real Madrid, the reigning champion, will get two city derbies against Atletico Madrid, the team it defeated in the 2014 and 2016 finals.

Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champion, faced off against the reigning champion, who had just last weekend had a tight 0-0 draw.

After placing first in the 36-team standings last month, Liverpool was the top-seeded team in the draw, but the Premier League leader was faced with PSG, the team with the top 15 seed, in the draw on Friday.

The confirmed round of 16 draw ✅#UCLdraw pic. twitter.com/zogc10nzdr

Never have Liverpool and PSG played in Champions League or previous European Cup knockouts. In their previous meetings, Liverpool and Liverpool exchanged home victories for a place in the group stage in 2018-19, which ended with Liverpool winning its sixth European Cup title.

The first-leg games will be played on March 4-5, with the return games one week later.

Number two seeded Barcelona and Benfica will face off in the draw, while Inter Milan will face Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven will face Arsenal.

Club Brugge, who got into the knockout stage in the 24th and final qualification place, will face Aston Villa, who they already beat in November. Lille will host Borussia Dortmund.

In the old Champions League, when teams from the same nation couldn’t compete against one another in the round of 16, matchups between Madrid and Germany were impossible. In those derbies, and for teams to reunite after having previously played each other in the league phase of the competition, thanks to the new tennis-style seeded bracket.

If the winners of the Liverpool and PSG tie face Villa and Brugge, the teams’ fate will be revealed for the quarterfinals and semifinals. The Madrid derby winners will face Arsenal or PSV Eindhoven.

The route to Munich is already established. #UCLdraw pic. twitter.com/M2ChMOgR8u

The Champions League last 16 draw in full:

• Club Brugge (Belgium) vs Aston Villa (England)
• Borussia Dortmund (Germany) vs Lille (France)
• Real Madrid (Spain) vs Atletico Madrid (Spain)
• Bayern Munich (Germany) vs Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) vs Arsenal (England)
• Feyenoord (Netherlands) vs Inter Milan (Italy)
• Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs Liverpool (England)
• Benfica (Portugal) vs Barcelona (Spain)