Champions League repeat draw after ‘technical glitch’

They drew the Champions League round of 16 on Monday, and set up a tense matchup between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Then they painted it again, and that match was gone.

A “technical problem” means the Champions League has been redrawn, leading to mostly new matches – easier for some, harder for others – and shattering fans’ dreams of Paris St.-Germain vs. Manchester United.

After the initial draw, fans and teams began posting on social media with massive hype about the matches. But in the end, only one of those games will happen. Three hours later, officials convened again to draw the teams again.

In the first draw, Manchester United were faced with Villarreal. But the two teams had met in the group stage so a new name was drawn, with Villarreal facing Manchester City instead.

At the time, the ball with the name United should have been placed back in the penalty area. That is unlikely to happen, so United have no chance of being held to a draw against second-placed Atlético Madrid. The remaining names have been drawn, with Manchester United finally facing PSG, and the draw appears to be over.

But as a result of the slide, UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, decided the fairest course of action was to pull all 16 teams together.

UEFA was happy to try to pin the blame on the stupidity, saying: “Following a technical problem with an external service provider’s software instructing officials on whether teams were eligible to play against each other. , a fatal error occurred during the draw for the round of 16 UEFA Champions League”

After the redraw, Chelsea drew Lille, just like the first draw. However, the remaining seven matches are different: Salzberg-Bayern, Sporting Lisbon-Manchester City, Benfica-Ajax, Atlético Madrid-Manchester United, Villarreal-Juventus, Inter Milan-Liverpool and PSG-Real Madrid.

The team that may not be the most happy with the new draw is Real Madrid, which started with a huge win over Benfica, but played with an all-star PSG squad. However, Real led the Spanish league comfortably and seemed comfortable. like there will be every chance. win the championship.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, who started with Villarreal and finished with a game against Sporting, speak: “It was a mistake. These things can happen to managers, players and UEFA. It is fair. It would be a mistake not to repeat. There will be doubts.”

Europa League second-tier matches include Barcelona, ​​appearing unfamiliar after finishing third in the Champions League group, against Napoli and Porto vs. Lazio.

In a new third tier league, the Conference League, with a more diverse mix of clubs, Leicester City will play Randers of Denmark. Teams Israel, Azerbaijan and Norway are also in the round of 16.

Each tournament is held only once. Hitherto.