Champions League
FC Bayern in luck: The opponent in the second round of the premier class is a lightweight
Outrageous luck of the draw: FC Bayern will benefit from the repetition of the draw
© Bernd Thissen / DPA
It could have been harder to hit: FC Bayern will face RB Salzburg in the Champions League round of 16. The draw had to be repeated because of a breakdown. After the first drawing, the opponent was still called Atletico Madrid.
FC Bayern in luck: With RB Salzburg, the German record champions meet a lightweight among the Champions League round of 16 participants. That was the result of the draw in Nyon, Switzerland. The curious thing was that the first drawing had to be repeated because of a breakdown. At that time the opponent was still called Atletico Madrid, a much more difficult task.
The exact dates have not yet been set. The first legs of the round of 16 games in the premier class are for the 15./16. and 22./23. February, the second legs will take place on 8/9. and 15./16. March. The final will be played in St. Petersburg on May 28th.
Europa League draw ran without an accident
In contrast, the draw for the second round in the Europa League was accident-free. The two Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig caught well-known opponents. BVB will face Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers, while Leipzig will play against Spanish top club Real Sociedad San Sebastian. Both German teams will initially have home rights on February 17th, the second leg will be played on February 24th.
Salzburg with the courted German international Karim Adeyemi are likely to take Munich as an opponent rather than Atlético. Last season, both clubs met in the group stage, when Bayern clearly won 3-1 and 6-2. The team of coach Julian Nagelsmann had qualified as group winners for the round of 16. Last year was the last stop for Bayern in the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain.
In the other round of 16 games, the duel between PSG and Real Madrid stands out. Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool FC meet Inter Milan. The English record champions Manchester United, trained by Ralf Rangnick, will play against Atlético, and defending champions Chelsea FC with coach Thomas Tuchel will face Wolfsburg-defeated OSC Lille. Salzburg also prevailed in the group with Wolfsburg.
It all went wrong with the first draw
Uefa canceled the first draw at noon due to “technical problems with the software of an external service provider”. Man United was initially drawn from the Spanish club FC Villarreal. According to the regulations, this was not allowed at all, as the two clubs met in the group stage. Former Russian international Andrei Arshavin had to draw again and then lost Villarreal to United’s city rivals Manchester City.
But that’s not all: After Atlético Madrid were drawn as the next runners-up in the group, Man United were falsely excluded as possible opponents. Instead, Liverpool were in the pot, but they already played against Atlético in the group stage. Ultimately, the Spaniards received FC Bayern as an opponent.
A discussion quickly began on social networks as to whether the draw could stand or have to be repeated. Shortly afterwards, Uefa reacted and declared the drawing of the tickets in the premier class to be invalid.
FC Bayern is the last remaining Bundesliga club in the premier class. Dortmund and Leipzig were third in the group in the Europa League, VfL Wolfsburg are no longer represented internationally after fourth place in the group stage. The last time the Bundesliga was that bad was in the 2017/18 season. Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt will only join the Europa League one round later as further German representatives in the round of 16, as they each took first place in the group stage.