TheCable

UEFA has conducted a new Champions League last-16 draw after a mistake involving Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester United.

The European football body had cancelled the round of 16 draw it did earlier on Monday afternoon.

The initial draw, which took place in Nyon, Switzerland, had earlier pitted Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo against each other as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were billed to play Manchester United.

Bayern Munich were also expected to slug it out with Atletico in the round of 16.

But in an unprecedented move, UEFA, in a tweet on its verified Twitter account, announced that the draw has been declared void.

It also said that a technical problem induced “a material error” while the draw was being held. UEFA added that the entire process will be redone again.

“Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16,” the tweet read.

“As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 15:00 CET.”

But in the new draw, Manchester United will now play Atletico Madrid while Liverpool meet Inter Milan.

Chelsea, the defending champions, will face Lille, the reigning champions of Ligue 1, while Manchester City, last season’s runner-up, have been paired with Sporting Lisbon.

FULL DRAW

• RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
• Sporting vs Manchester City
• Benfica vs Ajax
• Chelsea vs Lille
• Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
• Villarreal vs Juventus
• Inter vs Liverpool
• PSG vs Real Madrid

The first legs of matches will be played on February 15-16 and February 22-23, 2021, while the second legs will take place on March 8-9 and March 15-16, 2021.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correction made by UEFA after a mistake resulted in the initial ties being declared null and void.