UEFA re-draws, just look at the results of the first draw. hehe! Later on December 13, the draw for the knockout stage of the 2021-22 Champions League is out: Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will meet in the round of 16! What a thrill!
Although the two met in last year's Champions League group stage, the last time the two met in the knockout rounds was back to the 2010-11 Champions League semi-finals, when Messi's Barcelona eliminated Ronaldo's Real Madrid 3-1 in two legs to advance to the final, when Barca beat Manchester United 3-1 to reach the top of Europe.
Ten years later, Messi is no longer at Barca, and Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Manchester United, the two sides have met again, and these two games will also become two games of great reference value in next year's Ballon d'Or Awards.
The first leg of United's match against Paris grande will take place in the week of mid-February next year, while the second leg will be scheduled for midweek in early March.
Among the rest of the draw: Atletico will meet Bayern in a narrow way; Real Madrid will draw Benfica; Manchester City will face Villarreal; Liverpool will face Red Bull Salzburg; Inter will face Ajax; Chelsea will draw Lille; Juve will draw against Portuguese sports.
Historically, the Champions League's entry into the knockout stages has been a wonderful one, representing the highest level of world football in the world today. And this time the Champions League round of 16 showdown is also very exciting. Because one factor that cannot be ignored is that the elimination of the away goal system in this Champions League knockout round will greatly motivate the teams to strive for goals! Attacking, attacking, and attacking again will become the main tone! Let's look forward to the arrival of this season's Champions League knockout rounds!