Man City draw Sporting in Champions League last-16

Pep Guardiola’s side have been drawn against last season’s Portuguese champions

Tom Kershaw
Monday 13 December 2021 14:24 GMT
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Manchester City will be looking to maintain the pace at the top (Martin Rickett/PA)
Manchester City will be looking to maintain the pace at the top (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

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Manchester City will face Sporting in the Champions League last-16 after a second draw took place in Nyon.

Pep Guardiola’s side had initially been drawn against Villarreal, however, a technical error in the original draw forced Uefa to declare it null and void.

City, who finished top of Group A, will now instead face Portuguese champions Sporting, who edged out Borussia Dortmund to reach the knockout stages.

It is another favourable tie for City in which they will certainly be considered heavy favourites. Speaking between the two draws, Guardiola insisted it was clear that it would have to be redone.

“You want an assessment about the draw? It is going to happen again,” he said. “It is fair. It was a mistake. These things can happen, to managers, players and Uefa too. It is fair. It would be a mistake not to repeat, there would suspicions.”

The first-leg of the last-16 tie will be played at the José Alvalade Stadium in February, with the return fixture to take place at the Etihad in March.

New draw in full

  • Salzburg v Bayern
  • Sporting v Manchester City
  • Benfica v Ajax
  • Chelsea v Lille
  • Atletico Madrid v Manchester United
  • Villarreal v Juventus
  • Inter Milan v Liverpool
  • PSG v Real Madrid

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