Chelsea face Atletico Madrid in horror Champions League knockout stages with Liverpool taking on tough RB Leipzig

CHELSEA drew Atletico Madrid in a horror last 16 Champions League tie as Liverpool face a tricky test against Manchester United’s conquerors RB Leipzig.

Frank Lampard’s men know they will be in for a huge test of mind and muscle when they face off against Diego Simeone’s rugged veterans and are set for a reunion with former striker Diego Costa.

The Champions League draw dished out some horror ties[/caption]

Atletico Madrid knocked Premier League champions Liverpool out at this stage last year and will be aiming for another big scalp against the Blues.

While Chelsea head to Spain, the Prem’s other survivors, Liverpool and Manchester City, face German exams to reach the quarter-finals.

The Reds will face last year’s surprise semi-finalists Leipzig whose 3-2 win over United sent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side crashing into the Europa League.

Manchester City drew attack-minded Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach in the first round of the knockout stage and will be the happiest of the English sides.

Pep Guardiola’s side are aiming to win a maiden European crown after reaching the semi-finals in 2016 and research suggested the Citizens have nearly a one in four chance of bagging Europe’s biggest prize this season.

Chelsea have got arguably the second-toughest opponents having missed Barcelona – who instead must take on Paris Saint-Germain in the tie of the round.

The Blues have mixed memories of previous games against Simeone’s men, having lost to them in the 2014 semi-final and were also demolished by Radamel Falcao in the 2012 Super Cup Final.

As in 2014, Chelsea will travel to the Spanish capital for the first leg, this time in the Wanda Metropolitano, before playing the second game in SW6.

However they did win on their last visit to the Spanish capital, a 2-1 win in 2017 when sub Michy Batshuayi scored late to decide the match.

And while Atletico have seen a number of significant changes, Simeone remains and his team includes former Liverpool star Luis Suarez, emerging Joao Felix, Spain midfielders Saul and Koke, ex-Spurs right back Kieran Trippier and keeper Jan Oblak.

City boss Guardiola will be confident of seeing off the German side, despite Monchengladbach having eliminated Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk in the group phase.

And Liverpool too, will be firm favourites against Leipzig, who were far too good for Spurs at this stage last season and again showed their attacking prowess against United as they were 3-0 up before holding out the late rally by Solskjaer’s men.

Outside of the ties involving the English sides, many fans will be salivating at the thought of another tie between PSG and Barcelona, after the Catalans completed the most improbable comeback in the tournament’s history when they turned round a 4-0 first leg deficit to win 6-1 in the Nou Camp in 2017.

Neymar was the Barca hero that night but will be desperate to run out alongside Kylian Mbappe against his former side in a PSG shirt, although his participation is in doubt if fears over a fractured ankle are confirmed.

Reigning champions Bayern Munich will take on Serie A side Lazio as they look to retain the trophy.

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Juventus will face Portuguese champions Porto. 

After scraping through the group stage, Real Madrid were rewarded with a tie against last season’s quarter-finalists Atalanta.

Prolific Europa League winners Sevilla – who progressed in second place behind Chelsea – will face Borussia Dortmund, who sacked their manager Lucien Favre this weekend. 

Ties are set to take place on February 16 and 17 before the second legs are played in the following week on either February 23 or 24.

Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk