Man City play Real Madrid, PSG face Chelsea in Champions League last 16

Real Madrid will play Manchester City while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will face Chelsea in the pick of the 2025/26 Champions League last 16 games after the draw was made by UEFA in Nyon, Switzerland.

The draw for European football’s biggest club competition on Friday determined that City will face Madrid for the fourth consecutive season in a knockout Champions League clash.

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Meanwhile, PSG and Chelsea will repeat their FIFA 2025 Club World Cup final, which the Premier League side won 3-0.

Elsewhere, Barcelona will face Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur will play Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal will take on Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool will renew hostilities with Galatasaray in a rematch of their league phase game, which the Turkish giants won 1-0 in Istanbul.

Norwegian minnows will face Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon, while the only Italian side left in the competition face a daunting encounter with German champions Bayern Munich.

The first legs will be played on March 10-11 and the second legs will be played on March 17-18.

The eight seeded teams – who finished in the top eight spots in the league phase – will be at home for the second legs against the eight teams who qualified through the playoff round.

The last 16 draw in full:

Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea

Galatasaray vs Liverpool

Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Atalanta vs Bayern Munich

Newcastle vs Barcelona

Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur

Bodo/Glimt vs Sporting

Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal

Familiar foes

Real Madrid knocked City out in the last 16 last season, as they did in the 2024 quarterfinals and 2022 semifinals.

City beat Madrid in the 2023 semifinal en route to lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time.

The two clubs have played each other on 15 occasions, with each team winning five games and the rest ending as draws.

City and Madrid have already faced each other in the league stage this season, with City coming from behind to win 2-1 in December.

PSG will be eager to take revenge on Chelsea after the Blues stunned the French champions to win the inaugural Club World Cup title in a bad-tempered game last year.

The clubs have previously faced each other in the Champions League, with Chelsea triumphing in a 2014 quarterfinal and PSG eliminating the Blues in the last 16 in 2015 and 2016.

The draw on Friday also mapped out the potential route to the final, to be held in Budapest on May 30, as every team now knows their possible quarterfinal and semifinal opponents.

In the quarterfinals, City or Madrid will face the winner of Bayern Munich vs Atalanta, while PSG or Chelsea will take on either Liverpool or Galatasaray.

Quarterfinal draw

Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea vs Liverpool or Galatasaray

Real Madrid or Manchester City vs Bayern Munich or Atalanta

Newcastle or Barcelona vs Tottenham or Atletico Madrid

Sporting Lisbon or Bodo/Glimt vs Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen

Semifinal draw

Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Liverpool or Galatasaray vs Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, or Atalanta

Newcastle, Barcelona, Tottenham or Atletico Madrid vs Sporting Lisbon, Bodo/Glimt, Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen

Champions League knockout round schedule:

Last 16 : March 10-11 and March 17-18, 2026

Quarterfinals: April 7-8 and April 14-15, 2026

Semifinals: April 28-29 April and May 5-6, 2026

Final: May 30, 2026

Europa League last 16 draw

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