Ajax will compete in the eighth finals of the Champions League against Benfica, the current number three in the Portuguese competition. That was the result of the draw for the Champions League, which had to be retaken after mistakes were made by UEFA at the beginning of the afternoon and the draw was declared invalid after protests from several clubs.
Benfica finished second in the group stage behind Bayern Munich, which, like Ajax and Liverpool, won all six group matches. Benfica did finish above FC Barcelona, which finished third and has to compete against Napoli in February for a place in the eighth finals of the Europa League.
After fourteen rounds in the Portuguese competition, Benfica is on 34 points, four points behind leaders FC Porto and Sporting Portugal. Former Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen (34) made the switch from Tottenham Hotspur to Benfica in August 2020, where the Belgian is in the center of the defense next to the equally experienced Argentinian Nicolás Otamendi. The experienced coach Jorge Jesus (67) returned to Benfica in the summer of 2020 after a successful stint with Flamengo. Last season Benfica finished third in Portugal, but in the play-offs PSV eliminated PSV for a place in the group stage of the Champions League.
The big smasher in the eighth finals is the poster between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. The French top club would initially face Manchester United, which would bring a 37th confrontation between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, in the second draw, the French leader (already 13 points ahead of number two Marseille) was linked to Real Madrid, which also leads very convincingly in La Liga with an eight point lead over number two Sevilla.
This match will also be very interesting for Sergio Ramos, who has played no fewer than 671 games for Real Madrid in the past sixteen seasons. The 35-year-old defender from Camas transferred to PSG on a free transfer last summer. There he earns 15 million euros a year, but Ramos only played against AS Saint-Etienne on November 28 for the time being. In the past four games, he was missing from the match selection of Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The only confrontation that remained the same as in the first draw was Lille – Chelsea, allowing Sven Botman and Hakim Ziyech to face each other. Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt may soon try to stop Villarreal attacker Arnaut Danjuma.
Virgil van Dijk will take on Internazionale with Liverpool, after Jürgen Klopp’s team was linked to Austrian champions RB Salzburg earlier today. Donny van de Beek will face Atlético Madrid with Manchester United, while Nathan Aké will face Sporting Portugal with English league-leader Manchester City in February and March.
The full draw
Benfica – Ajax
Sporting Portugal – Manchester City
Atletico Madrid – Manchester United
RB Salzburg – Bayern Munich
Inter Milan – Liverpool
Villarreal – Juventus
Chelsea – Lille OSC
Paris Saint Germain – Real Madrid
The original draw
Benfica – Real Madrid
Villarreal – Manchester City
Atletico Madrid – Bayern Munich
RB Salzburg – Liverpool
Internazionale – Ajax
Sporting – Juventus
Chelsea – Lille
PSG – Manchester United
It was striking images during the draw in Nyon: Andrey Arshavin took Manchester United out of the box as an opponent of Villarreal, but those teams could not draw against each other at all. ,,That’s not possible, Manchester United and Villarreal were already in the group together. We apologize for this technical error,” UEFA director Giorgio Marchetti apologized. Villarreal was then linked to Manchester City and more would have gone wrong in the draw.
For example, the ball with the name of Manchester United would not have gone into the tube when the opponent of Atlético Madrid would have to be drawn, while Liverpool (which was in Atlético’s group) was added as a possible opponent of Atlético. Eventually The Red Devils linked to a strong opponent: the Paris Saint-Germain of Lionel Messi. As a result, a confrontation between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was on the menu in the eighth final.
After the draw, it soon became apparent that something had gone wrong and the clubs quickly came into close contact with UEFA, after which the European Football Association decided “due to technical reasons” to reschedule the draw. Real Madrid, which Benfica initially drew, would like the draw to be done again from the mistake. After all, Real Madrid – Benfica came out first and the mistake was made only afterwards. However, UEFA decided that the draw has to be all over again.
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