Liverpool drawn against PSG in last 16 of Champions League

By Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter

Liverpool have been drawn against Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Reds topped the league phase of the competition with seven wins from their eight matches, and must now topple the French champions to progress.

Arsenal will face Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, who knocked out Juventus in the knockout play-off round.

Aston Villa, who secured the final automatic spot in the last 16, will face Belgian side Club Brugge.

The Belgians beat Villa in the league phase, one of only two defeats suffered by Unai Emery’s side.

The last 16 first legs will be played on the evenings of March 4th and 5th, with the return legs on March 11th and 12th.

Liverpool and PSG last met in the group phase in 2018-19, the year the Reds went on to win the trophy for the sixth time.

Their first meeting was in the 1997 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals, when PSG won 3-2 on aggregate and lost to Barcelona in the final.

Villa and Liverpool will meet in the quarter-finals if they both win their last-16 ties.

If Arsenal can overcome PSV, they will face the winners of the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico in the last eight.

Arsenal and PSV have met on 10 previous occasions, but PSV won the only knockout encounter between the teams – a last-16 match-up in 2007.

Bayern Munich, who knocked out Celtic in the last round, face Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16.

Barcelona take on Benfica, while Feyenoord’s reward for knocking out AC Milan is a tie against their city rivals Inter Milan.

Last year’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund will go up against French side Lille.