Champions League draw: Manchester United & Manchester City’s new opponents as first draw declared ‘void’

Manchester United and Manchester City have learnt which sides they’ll face in the last-16 of the Champions League, after Monday’s draw to be carried out for a second time.

The Red Devils, will now play Atletico Madrid after they were paired against Paris Saint-Germain in the initial draw.

As for City, they will face Sporting Lisbon and were originally drawn against Villarreal.

Why was the Champions League last-16 redone?

The last-16 draw had to be carried out for a second time after a technical error saw United not included as one of the potential sides who could have played Atletico and, therefore, it compromised the credibility and fairness of the draw.

A statement from Uefa on Monday said: “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

“As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 15.00 CET.”

Have United played Atletico before?

The sides last met in the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup, with the Spaniards dumping United out in the second round.

However, they have never faced each other in the Champions League, despite both sides having a rich history in the competition. Atletico have never won Europe’s top prize, but have finished as runners-up on three occasions.

Atleti aren’t enjoying a great campaign this term and are 13 points behind local rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, while they qualified for the Champions League last-16 after a less-than-impressive group stage.

The tie also means ex-Liverpool man Luis Suarez will be back at Old Trafford, as will Kieran Trippier, who has long been linked with a move to the three-time European champions.

Have City played Sporting before?

The Premier League champions last met Sporting in 2012, when Roberto Mancini was manager.

To date, the double header in the Europa League is the only time City have faced Sporting, with the Portuguese side progressing on away goals after the Blues won 3-2 at the Etihad.

The reigning champions of Portugal should not be underestimated as they’ve won 12 of their 14 league matches this term and progressed from a Champions League group containing Borussia Dortmund.

City defender Pedro Porro is currently on loan at Sporting, as is Wolverhampton Wanderers’ left-back Ruben Vinagre.

When will the Champions League last-16 ties take place?

The last-16 games will take place over four separate weeks. The first legs will be played on 15/16 and 22/23 February and both Manchester clubs will play their away fixture first.

After a week off, the second legs start on 8/9 March and will be concluded the following week, on 15/16 March.

Champions League draw in full

RB Salzburg v Bayern Munich

Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City

Benfica v Ajax

Chelsea v Lille

Atletico Madrid v Manchester United

Villarreal v Juventus

Inter Milan v Liverpool

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid