Do You Agree? Fans dub Champions League last-16 draw worst ever
Fans have been quick to blast the Champions League Round of 16 fixtures after Arsenal and Manchester City learned of their opponents in the next round of the competition.
The Premier League sides were among the 16 clubs in the draw hosted in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday morning, for fixtures set to take place in February and March.
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Defending champions City were paired with Danish side FC Copenhagen, who qualified at the expense of Manchester United, while Arsenal will face Portuguese giants Porto.
But viewers were all together disappointed with the lack of heavyweight clashes, as the likes of PSG and Inter Milan – who finished as runners-up in the group stage avoided all of the favoured group winners.
Many were united in labelling it as the least appealing slate of knockout fixtures. One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Probably the worst Champions League draw ever.’
Many took to social media to label the draw as ‘boring’ or ‘the worst ever’ after several European heavyweights avoided one another in the next round
‘Could genuinely be the worst round of 16 draw I’ve ever seen,’ said another. A third echoed that sentiment, simply writing: ‘Worst UCL draw ever.’
The absence of established European Cup campaigners and the shock exits of Newcastle and Man United have played a part in the underwhelming list of ties.
‘This is an awful draw.’ Added another fan. ‘No Chelsea or Liverpool genuinely leaves it empty.’
Away from the English teams, fourteen-time winners Real Madrid were draw against RB Leipzig, while their city rivals face a stern test against last season’s finalists Inter.
Surprise package Real Sociedad were rewarded with a clash against PSG after topping their group and Barcelona will welcome Napoli to the Olympic Stadium.
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Harry Kane and Bayern were drawn against Lazio and Borussia Dortmund’s bid to return to a Wembley Champions League final will take them to runaway Eredivisie leaders PSV.
Monday’s draw threw up a few competitive fixtures, even if they are lacking in star power, but that has not been enough to please the majority of onlookers.
‘Absolute awful draw.’ One fan wrote. ‘Inter – Atlético, Napoli – Barca, Leipzig – Real. Those are the only half-decent matches, the rest will be absolute boring.
‘At least Bayern and Dortmund have very good chances for the CL QF.’