Chelsea will face Barcelona and Real Madrid will play Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. In the draw which was held in UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, Chelsea were paired with Barcelona, bringing back memories of their meeting last season in which Chelsea progressed to the quarter final following a 5-4 aggregate win over the Catalan giants. Arsenal and Real Madrid will be meeting for the first time on the European stage in another English-Spanish encounter while Bavarian giants Bayern Munich will take on AC Milan in a tough game. Title holders Liverpool were handed an easy task against Portugal's Benfica while Inter Milan will have to overcome Dutch giants Ajax. Italian champions Juventus will face German ambitious side Werder Bremen and last season semi-finalists PSV Eindhoven will play Olympique Lyon in a repeat of last term's quarter final encounter. Scottish giants Rangers and Spain's Villarreal will meet each other in their first appearance in the UCL knockout stage. The first-leg ties will be held on the 21st and 22nd of February while the return leg will take place in the seventh and eighth of March.
