The draw of the knockout phase for the new format of the UEFA Champions League have been done on Friday morning and Manchester City is peared with Real Madrid in the play-off while Celtic would deal with Vincent Kompany and Bayern Munich.
Premier League champion Manchester City won the continental trophy as part of their historic Treble in 2022-23, face the toughest of tests against the current kings of Europe as a result of only being able to muster a 22nd-place finish in the league stage.
Scotland giants, Celtic ended one spot higher than the Blues, but face an epic challenge of their own against versatile Vincent Kompany and and the current Bundesliga leaders.
The knockout phase in full:
Man City vs Real Madrid
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Juventus vs PSV
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
Brest vs PSG
Monaco vs Benfica
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
Sporting CP vs Borussia Dortmund
Elsewhere, AC Milan – with new signing Kyle Walker joining USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah at San Siro – will take on Feyenoord.
However Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, who are still looking for their first Champions League title, must overcome domestic rivals Brest in order to reach the last 16.
The other ties at this stage of the competition will see Monaco lock horns with Portuguese heavyweights Benfica. There is an intriguing tussle between Sporting CP and Borussia Dortmund, while Atalanta – who continue to win plenty of admirers – are preparing to take on Club Brugge.
The change in format for the 2024-25 Champions League, which has been met with mixed reviews, means that group stage fixtures carried over into the new year. As a result, the two-legged knockout phase play-offs will take place on February 11/12 and a week later on 18/19.
Those teams seeded from ninth to 16th – which includes Real, Bayern, PSG and AC Milan – are due to play the second legs of their respective contests on home soil. The draw to map out the last-16 and subsequent route to the final will take place on February 21
