UEFA Champions League: Liverpool’s new opponents after void draw, when ties will be played & full last-16 fixtures
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Liverpool were eventually pitted against Inter Milan in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League after the draw had to be carried out for a second time following an error during the initial pairings.
Jurgen Klopp’s men originally drew Red Bull Salzburg but a technical error regarding Manchester United’s ball during the first proceedings saw the whole process voided and repeated at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
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Hide AdLiverpool last played Internazionale in 2008, when a 1-0 win at San Siro and 2-0 victory at Anfield dumped the Italians out of the first knockout stage of the Champions League.
When will the fixtures be played?
As always, the clubs paired together will play each other over two legs, but for the first time this season the away goals rule will not be utilised in the competition.
As Group B winners, Liverpool will play the first leg away from home at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 15th/16th/22nd/23rd.
The return leg will played at Anfield on March 8th/9th/15th/16th.
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Hide AdWhy was the draw controversial?
A technical error saw Manchester United’s name included in Villarreal’s potential last-16 opponents. The Red Devils shouldn’t have been in the bowl as they played them in the group stages and, by chance, were then drawn against Villarreal.
Officials at the draw quickly realised their error, disregarded United’s name and selected a second side, which just so happened to be Manchester City.
However, the controversy came later as United’s name was accidentally not included in the sides who could face Atletico Madrid, with the Spanish champions eventually paired against Bayern Munich.
But given that United’s name was not in the bowl, it raised questions over the fairness of the draw and whether it should be redone.
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Hide AdUEFA later announced the draw would be redone on Monday at 14:00
European football’s governing body said: "Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
"As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone."
What do we know about Inter Milan?
Inter Milan ended a ten-year trophy drought when they clinched the Serie A championship under manager Antonio Conte.
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Hide AdThe triumph, with four games to spare, ended Juventus’ run of nine successive Scudetto titles.
However, the revitalised Milan side have lost at least two key figures from that glorious campaign. Top scorer Romelu Lukaku has joined Chelsea and inspirational boss Conte is at Tottenham Hotspur.
The defending Italian champions currently sit atop the league, one point ahead of city rivals AC Milan, with Lautaro Martinez taking up goal-scoring duties.
Atletico Madrid v Manchester United
Benfica v Ajax
Chelsea v Lille
Inter v Liverpool
PSG v Real Madrid
Salzburg v Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City
Villarreal v Juventus
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