Liverpool draw Real in repeat of last season's Champions League final

Matthew Storey

LiveScore

Liverpool and Real Madrid will meet in the Champions League last 16 in a mouth-watering repeat of last season’s final.

Tottenham face a tough task against Serie A champions AC Milan, while Chelsea’s clash with Borussia Dortmund is another eye-catching affair.

Premier League winners Manchester City meet RB Leipzig, who won their final four group games to book their spot in last 16, while the standout draw not including an English side is undoubtedly the one pairing Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain together.

In-form Napoli have been drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan do battle with Porto.

The final game sees unfancied Club Brugge play Benfica, with the ties to be played across February and early March.

Reds’ Madrid curse

In recent years, it is always games against teams from Madrid that seem to end Liverpool’s European dreams.

Last season, Jurgen Klopp's men lost the final to Real 1-0, while the year before they were knocked out 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals by Los Blancos.

In 2019-20, it was Atletico Madrid’s turn to get the better of the men from Merseyside, winning 4-2 on aggregate in the last 16, including a famous 3-2 victory at Anfield.

There was brief respite from their Madrid curse when the Reds lifted the trophy in the Spanish capital by beating Tottenham in June 2019, 12 months after Real had got the better of them in the showpiece final in Kyiv.

Tasty ties

Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will face former club Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea’s meeting with Dortmund will see the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic face their former clubs, as well as pitting wonderkid Jude Bellingham up against an English side again.

PSG’s run of difficult last 16 ties continues against Bundesliga giants Bayern. With both sides top of their respective leagues again, Champions League success is the only thing that will turn good seasons into great ones.

Antonio Conte returns to Italy when Tottenham play against AC Milan, with some of Europe’s biggest clubs now destined to fall early.

Napoli’s kind draw sees them remain genuine contenders, while underdogs Club Brugge and Benfica will surely both be thrilled to face each other.