Champions League: Round of 16 draw: England vs Italy double feature!

Ozren Podnar

Arsenal's and Liverpool's ambitions to go all the way in this year's Champions' League were dealt a heavy blow when the draw paired them with two of the toughest rivals available. The early Premier League leaders Arsenal will have to overcome the European and world champions AC Milan, while Liverpool will tackle the other Milan side, the equally impressive Inter.

Manchester United have had more luck by drawing an unpredictable Lyon, although Sir Alex Ferguson warned his players that the French were the hardest opponent they could get from the hat. Only Chelsea of the English quartet can be considered clear favourites against the perennial Greek champions Olympiacos. Here's what Soccerphile thinks of the forthcoming matches, due to be played on 19/20th of February and 4/5th of March, the group champions having the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

Celtic vs Barcelona: While Celtic scraped through, Barcelona stormed through their group and should dominate the Scots.

Lyon vs Manchester United: Lyon performed the greatest feat by qualifying in spite of two initial 0-3 defeats. Still, United are a more resourceful side.

Liverpool vs Inter: The Italians have a superior squad. They've lost but one game in Serie A in 20 months. But, Liverpool have a more cunning coach in Rafa Benítez.

Roma vs Real Madrid: Roma's success would be a miracle. Still, Francesco Totti is known to perform them from time to time.

Arsenal vs Milan: Arsenal shine in the domestic competitions, but Milan are the most successful team on the international stage. And have only the Champions' League to play for after a poor start in Serie A.

Olympiacos vs Chelsea: On paper, the least evenly balanced tie, but Olympiacos held their own against the likes of Werder and Lazio in the group stage.

Fenerbahce vs Sevilla: Logic says Sevilla will succeed, even though Zico's Fener upset Inter in the previous phase.

Schalke vs Porto: An evenly balanced tie. Porto's more reliable defence should give them the edge.

Group A

1st day
Marseille vs Besiktas 2-0
Porto vs Liverpool 1-1

2nd day
Besiktas vs Porto 0-1
Liverpool vs Marseille 0-1

3rd day
Marseille vs Porto 1-1
Besiktas vs. Liverpool 2-1

4th day
Porto vs Marseille 2-1
Liverpool vs Besiktas 8-0

5th day
Liverpool vs Porto 4-1
Besiktas vs Marseille 2-1

6th day
Porto vs Besiktas 2-1
Marseille vs Liverpool 0-4

1. Porto 6 3 2 1 8-7 11
2. Liverpool 6 3 1 2 18-5 10
3. Marseille 6 2 1 3 6-9 7
4. Besiktas 6 2 0 4 4-15 6

Group B

1st day
Chelsea vs Rosenborg 1-1
Schalke vs Valencia 0-1

2nd day
Rosenborg vs Schalke 0-2
Valencia vs Chelsea 1-2

3rd day
Chelsea vs Schalke 2-0
Rosenborg vs Valencia 2-0

4th day
Schalke vs Chelsea 0-0
Valencia vs Rosenborg 0-2

5th day
Valencia vs Schalke 0-0
Rosenborg vs Chelsea 0-4

6th day
Schalke vs Rosenborg 3-1
Chelsea vs Valencia 0-0

1. Chelsea 6 3 3 0 9-2 12
2. Schalke 6 2 2 2 5-4 8
3. Rosenborg 6 2 1 3 6-10 7
4. Valencia 6 1 2 3 2-6 5

Group C

1st day
Olympiakos vs Lazio 1-1
Real vs Werder 2-1

2nd day
Werder vs Olympiakos 1-3
Lazio vs Real 2-2

3rd day
Real vs Olympiakos 4-2
Werder vs Lazio 2-1

4th day
Olympiakos vs Real 0-0
Lazio vs Werder 2-1

5th day
Lazio vs Olympiakos 1-2
Werder vs Real 3-2

6th day
Olympiakos vs Werder 3-0
Real vs Lazio 3-1

1. Real Madrid 6 3 2 1 13-9 11
2. Olympiakos 6 3 2 1 11-7 11
3. Werder 6 2 0 4 8-13 6
4. Lazio 6 1 2 3 8-11 5

Group D

1st day
Milan vs Benfica 2-1
Shakhtar vs Celtic 2-0

2nd day
Benfica vs Shakhtar 0-1
Celtic vs Milan 2-1

3rd day
Milan vs Shahtar 4-1
Benfica vs Celtic 1-0

4th day
Shahtar vs Milan 0-3
Celtic vs Benfica 1-0

5th day
Benfica vs Milan 1-1
Celtic vs Shakhtar 2-1

6th day
Shakhtar vs Benfica 1-2
Milan vs Celtic 1-0

1st Milan 6 4 1 1 13-6 13
2nd Celtic 6 3 0 3 5-6 9
3rd Benfica 6 2 1 3 5-6 7
4th Shakhtar 6 2 0 4 6-11 6

Group E

1st day
Rangers vs Stuttgart 2-1
Barcelona vs Lyon 3-0

2nd day
Stuttgart vs Barcelona 0-2
Lyon vs Rangers 0-3

3rd day
Rangers vs Barcelona 0-0
Stuttgart vs Lyon 0-2

4th day
Barcelona vs Rangers 2-0
Lyon vs Stuttgart 4-2

5th day
Lyon vs Barcelona 2-2
Stuttgart vs Rangers 3-2

6th day
Barcelona vs Stuttgart 3-1
Rangers vs Lyon 0-3

1. Barcelona 6 4 2 0 12-3 14
2. Lyon 6 3 1 2 11-10 10
3. Rangers 6 2 1 3 7-9 7
4. Stuttgart 6 1 0 5 7-15 3

Group F

1st day
Roma vs Dinamo Kiev 2-0
Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester United 0-1

2nd day
Dinamo Kiev vs Sporting 1-2
Manchester United vs Roma 1-0

3rd day
Roma vs Sporting Lisbon 2-1
Dinamo Kiev vs Manchester United 2-4

4th day
Sporting Lisbon vs Roma 2-2
Manchester United vs Dinamo Kiev 4-0

5th day
Manchester United vs Sporting Lisbon 2-1
Dinamo Kiev vs Roma 1-4

6th day
Sporting Lisbon vs Dinamo Kiev 3-0
Roma vs Manchester United 1-1

1. Manchester United 6 5 1 0 13-4 16
2. Roma 6 3 2 1 11-6 11
3. Sporting Lisbon 6 2 1 3 9-8 8
4. Dinamo Kiev 6 0 0 6 4-19 0

Group G

1st day
PSV vs CSKA Moscow 2-1
Fenerbahce vs Inter 1-0

2nd day
CSKA Moscow vs Fenerbahce 2-2
Inter vs PSV 2-0

3rd day
PSV vs Fenerbahce 0-0
CSKA Moscow vs Inter 1-2

4th day
Fenerbahce vs PSV 2-0
Inter vs CSKA Moscow 4-2

5th day
Inter vs Fenerbahce 3-0
CSKA Moscow vs PSV 0-1

6th day
Fenerbahce vs CSKA Moscow 3-1
PSV vs Inter 0-1

1. Inter 6 5 0 1 12-4 15
2. Fenerbahce 6 3 2 1 8-6 11
3. PSV Eindhoven 6 2 1 3 3-6 7
4. CSKA Moskva 6 0 1 5 8-13 1

Group H

1st day
Arsenal vs Sevilla 3-0
Slavia Prague vs Steaua 2-1

2nd day
Steaua vs Arsenal 0-1
Sevilla vs Slavia Prague 4-2

3rd day
Arsenal vs Slavia Prague 7-0
Sevilla vs Steaua 2-1

4th day
Slavia Prague vs Arsenal 0-0
Steaua vs Sevilla 0-2

5th day
Steaua vs Slavia Prague 1-1
Sevilla vs Arsenal 3-1

6th day
Slavia Prague vs Sevilla 0-3
Arsenal vs Steaua 2-1

1. Sevilla 6 5 0 1 14-7 15
2. Arsenal 6 4 1 1 14-4 13
3. Slavia Prague 6 1 2 3 5-16 5
4. Steaua 6 0 1 5 4-10 1

Ozren Podnar

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