Holders United to take on Inter

[TAREK®]

Holders Manchester United FC will take on FC Internazionale Milano in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League following today's draw in Nyon.

Mourinho return
Sir Alex Ferguson will renew acquaintances with José Mourinho who famously led FC Porto to victory against United at this stage in 2004 en route to winning the trophy. In other stand-out ties nine-times champions Real Madrid CF were paired with five-times winners Liverpool FC, and 2008 losing finalists Chelsea FC tackle a Juventus side coached by former Blues manager Claudio Ranieri.

Sporting face Bayern
Sporting Clube de Portugal, in the knockout stages for first time, take on four-time winners FC Bayern München, while Porto will meet Club Atlético de Madrid in an all-Iberian duel. French champions Olympique Lyonnais, in the knockout phase for the sixth successive season, face a two-legged tie against FC Barcelona while Arsenal FC take on AS Roma and Villarreal CF play Panathinaikos FC.

Fascinating ties
Matches will be played over two legs on 24/25 February and 10/11 March. In the ceremony staged at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the eight winners of the group-stage pools were paired with teams that finished second. No clubs from the same association could be pitted together, while sides that met in the group stage were also kept apart. The draw for the remaining rounds will be made on 20 March, with this season's final taking place in Rome on 27 May.




Source: UEFA