Anticipation is always high ahead of the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League. In Tuesday evening’s mock draw, Manchester United drew Real Madrid and Celtic drew Juventus – both British sides would have hoped for better fixtures than that when the actual draw took place on Wednesday morning. However, Celtic and Manchester United had both already bettered their efforts in the competition compared to last season as United went out in the group stages and Celtic hadn’t even qualified.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have fallen at the last 16 stage for the last two seasons therefore they know just how brutal the draw can be but Arsene Wenger made it clear before the game – he did not want to draw Barcelona. He got his wish but still ended up with a very difficult task in the form of Bayern Munich. Finalists in two of the last three seasons, Bayern Munich have only strengthened themselves in recent months – 9 points ahead in their domestic league and one of the most potent attacking forces in world football will not have made Arsene Wenger’s day.
Celtic, as they did in the mock draw, drew Juventus again. Despite Celtic’s exploits against Barcelona earlier in the competition, the knockout rounds are a completely different situation and Juventus are a very different team to Barcelona. The Italians are much more defensive-minded but just as ruthless on the counter-attack as Barcelona so while there is no team like the Catalans, Juventus – despite their different style – come pretty close. However in European competition the home games are what matter and no-one has a better home crowd than Celtic – the crowd will have to be in full voice at Celtic Park to carry the Hoops against the Italian giants.
The tie of the round though came towards the end of the draw. With Manchester United and Real Madrid still undrawn it seemed inevitable that they would both be drawn together. When Steve McManaman pulled United’s ball out of the draw, a wry smile cropped up on his face because he knew the enormity of this fixture. Mourinho would be returning to Manchester for the second time this season but Cristiano Ronaldo was the one on everyone’s mind. A first competitive return to Old Trafford for the Portuguese star since his eighty-million pound move to Madrid will be the perfect backdrop for this fixture.
This is a great draw for the neutrals as on paper every fixture looks incredibly close and unpredictable. It definitely won’t be easy for the British sides but that doesn’t mean fans should be disheartened – look at Chelsea last season, who would have bet on them winning the final?
Full Last-16 Draw:-
Galatasary vs Schalke 04
Celtic vs Juventus
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
Shaktar Donetsk vs Borussia Dortmund
AC Milan vs Barcelona
Real Madrid vs Manchester United
Valencia vs PSG
FC Porto vs Malaga
First legs to be played 12/13/19/20th February, 2013
Second legs to be played 5/6/12/13th March, 2013