Winners and losers of second Champions League draw as Man Utd rejoice but Liverpool get tougher test
THE draw for the Champions League last 16 had to be made TWICE after Uefa officials bungled the first attempt.
Hapless execs forgot to put Manchester United back in the pot after initially drawing them against Villarreal – who they had already played in the group stage.
Rules state the Group F rivals could not meet again so soon, so the entire draw had to be made again with all 16 sides back in the hat.
And that inevitably resulted in some teams receiving an easier run than they’d anticipated, while others were redrawn against more heavyweight foes.
Here SunSport runs the rule over the biggest winners and losers from the Champions League last-16 redraw.
WINNERS
Among the biggest winners have to be Man United themselves – whose initial draw to face Villarreal started the whole Uefa farce in Nyon.
After realising the error, officials chose the Red Devils to face the mighty Paris Saint-Germain for a Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi blockbuster.
But the official redraw sees United go up against Atletico Madrid – not a much easier prospect but one that did struggle to qualify from Group B.
Diego Simeone’s men are languishing in fourth domestically – although they will surely look at Old Trafford as an easier prospect than their original opponents.
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Atleti were due to face a Bayern Munich side who, as the highest-ranked team in the competition on Uefa club coefficients, rightly fear no one.
But swapping Simeone’s Spanish champs for Austrian minnows RB Salzburg has to be seen as a great result at the Allianz Arena.
Erik Ten Hag’s high-flying Ajax side were initially drawn against Serie A winners Inter Milan before the first foul-up.
A switch to Portuguese minnows Benfica – who only won two of their group games – is a definite improvement on Simone Inzaghi’s men.
Strangely though, that same move is probably a bonus for Benfica too, given they now avoid Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Villarreal may think their job is a little easier now they’re due to face Juventus rather than Premier League champs Manchester City.
LOSERS
While Man United may have benefited from the redraw, their arch-rivals Liverpool are certainly on the losing end.
The Reds were due to face Salzburg but now face the prospect of a last-16 clash with Inter – who are back on top in the Italian top flight.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid have to be in contention for yet another Champions League, given their fine form domestically.
But the last-16 looks a trickier prospect now after they were reassigned to face PSG instead of Benfica.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and ex-Real skipper Sergio Ramos will be licking their lips at a return to the Bernabeu.
Sporting were probably fancying their chances against Juventus in the initial draw but a new last-16 opponent in the shape of Man City is about as bad as it gets.
Pep Guardiola’s men have to be among the favourites to go one better than the runners-up position the managed last year.
NO CHANGE
One fixture has remained the same across both draws – Chelsea vs Lille.
Blues fans may even think of themselves as winners with that result, given they’ve avoided heavyweights such as PSG and Inter.
And the likes of Salzburg, Juventus, Man City – and the dangerous duo of PSG and Inter – have seen little change in their prospects of reaching the quarters.
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