David Beckham will make an emotional return to Manchester United with AC Milan while Chelsea will come face-to-face with former manager Jose Mourinho following the draw for the first knockout round of the Champions League.
Beckham will be hoping to make a fond farewell in the twilight of his career when Milan take on the 2008 European champions in the last 16.
The former England midfielder will join the Italian giants on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy in the new year and the second leg of the mouthwatering encounter will see Beckham back at Old Trafford.
The midfielder ended his long association with the Red Devils when he signed for Real Madrid in 2003 and has not played club football at Old Trafford since.
Milan have never lost to United in four previous Champions League and European Cup encounters.
Meanwhile, Mourinho will also be making a return of his own to Stamford Bridge.
He left Chelsea under something of a cloud in September 2007 but not before leading lthe Blues to two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups during three trophy-filled years in London.
However, the Portuguese coach never managed to take Chelsea past the semi-final stage of the Champions League.
He will renew rivalries with Carlo Ancelotti after the pair jousted regularly in the Italian media last season when the now Chelsea boss was in charge of Inter's city rivals AC Milan.
Elsewhere in an interesting draw, Arsenal - the other remaining English club following Liverpool's surprise exit - have been paired with FC Porto.
Defending champions Barcelona will take on Stuttgart while big-spending Real Madrid have been handed a tie against French side Lyon.
The first leg of the last 16 ties will be played on 16/17 and 23/24 February, with the returns scheduled for 9/10 and 16/17 March.
Champions League first knockout round draw:
Stuttgart v Barcelona
Olimpiacos v Bordeaux
Internazionale v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Lyon v Real Madrid
FC Porto v Arsenal
AC Milan v Manchester United.
No comments:
Post a Comment