A Champions league draw heavy with reunions on Monday paired Real Madrid and Barcelona with the same last 16 opponents as last season, and sent Arsene Wenger back to the club where he made his reputation. Defending champion Madrid will play Schalke a year after a 6-1 rout in Germany sparked a 9-2 aggregate victory. Barcelona will once again travel first, on Feb. 24, to play Manchester City. Barcelona beat City 4-1 on aggregate at the same stage last season.
“We have tried to improve at the back. We are more solid than last season,” said Man City director of football Txiki Begiristain, a former Barcelona player and director. “The only reason to be happy is that I can go home.” The draw also paired Wenger with former team Monaco, where the Arsenal manager rose to prominence by winning a French league title in 1988.
“It’s AS Monaco—Mon. Wenger will be happy about the draw,” Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil wrote on his Twitter account. More repeat business will see Paris Saint-Germain again host Chelsea first, after the English club advanced from their quarterfinal series last season.
Juventus will face Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of the 1997 final which produced one of the biggest Champions league upsets. Back then, Dortmund beat the heavily favored defending champions 3-1. Also, Bayer leverkusen will face Atletico Madrid, and FC Basel will play FC Porto in a match of clubs which sustain good Champions league results despite often selling star players.
The first legs will be played on Feb. 17-18 and 24-25, with the return matches on March 10-11 and 17-18. The final is scheduled for June 6 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.