Manchester United will face Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League after the draw was held on Monday, giving fans a chance to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lock horns once again in Europe's elite competition.
Messi, who joined PSG prior to this season, has struggled to get going in Ligue 1 but has five goals in the Champions League while Ronaldo -- the competition's all-time top scorer with 140 goals -- has six in five appearances this season.
Between them, the pair have won 12 of the last 13 Ballon d'Or awards for player of the year -- with Messi leading 7-5 after this year's victory.
After numerous meetings in Spain's 'El Clasico', they last played each other in 2020 when Messi was with Barcelona and Ronaldo at Juventus, with the Portugal captain scoring twice at the Camp Nou as the Italian side won 3-0 in the group stage.
The last time United faced PSG in the last 16, the Premier League side fought back from a first leg deficit to advance while they shared the spoils in the group stage last season with one victory apiece.
While Ralf Rangnick prepares to set his United side up against the triumvirate of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, all eyes will also be on PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino who has been linked with the Old Trafford job.
Six-times champions Bayern Munich were also handed a tricky tie in the form of Atletico Madrid. The Spanish side had risked receiving a heavyweight tie after finishing second in their group behind Liverpool.
Juergen Klopp's Liverpool take on RB Salzburg who became the first Austrian side to qualify for the knockout stages.
"Tactically they are really good, technically they are really good. I think we cannot deny the 'favourites' role, but we know it is a tough place to go," Klopp told the Liverpool website.
Holders Chelsea will face French champions Lille while record 13-times winners Real Madrid take on Portuguese side Benfica.
Manchester City were handed a tie with Villarreal after a mistake in the draw which saw the Spanish side initially drawn with their Group F opponents United. Teams who played in the same group cannot play each other in the last 16.
Champions League last 16 draw
Ajax Amsterdam v Inter Milan
Bayern Munich v Atletico Madrid
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon
Liverpool v RB Salzburg
Lille v Chelsea
Manchester City v Villarreal
Manchester United v Paris St Germain
Real Madrid v Benfica
The first team named will play the second leg at home. The first legs are scheduled to take place on Feb. 15-16 and Feb. 22-23 while the second legs will be played on March 8-9 and March 15-16.
