MANCHESTER UNITED were set to face PSG before it was decided the Champions League draw would be redone after terrible gaffes were made.
It was a stunning draw that had football fans getting ready to feast on ANOTHER clash between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, after more than a decade of them locking horns in LaLiga.
However, serious errors were made during the draw – which means a new one will take place at 2pm.
Aside from United, the rest of England’s quartet were handed dream draws for the last 16 of the competition.
United, group winners, were actually the first of the Prem sides to be pulled from the hat in Nyon.
But the Old Trafford side had been inadvertently placed among the teams that could play Spanish outfit Villarreal, bossed by former Arsenal chief Unai Emery, whom they beat into second place in the first phase.
When former Arsenal star Andrei Arshavin pulled out United, embarrassed Uefa chief Giorgio Marchetti said “this is not possible” and ordered the re-draw.
Instead of United, out came Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, giving the Etihad side what looked like a comfortable draw.
And with Chelsea drawn against French champions Lille and Liverpool facing Austrian knock-out new boys Salzburg, it left United as the LAST club drawn, against Poch and his superstars including Messi.
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Chelsea, who faced a potential horror match-up after finishing second in their group, instead got the easiest option on paper as they were paired with the French champions.
Liverpool got the weakest possible runners-up in the shape of Salzburg, the first Austrian side to make the last of 16 in more than 20 years.
City, aiming to finally land the trophy they crave most, would not have been unhappy at drawing Europa League winners Villarreal.
The mood at Old Trafford, though, was very different even if fans of other clubs as well as Messi and Ronaldo would have been relishing the prospect.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich were handed a tough task against Atletico Madrid, Ajax were against Inter, Benfica were to take on Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon were set to try and pile the agony on struggling Juventus.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk