Liverpool are to take on fellow five-time winners Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, while struggling Manchester United are to face French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Real Madrid were paired with Ajax in Monday’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland, as the Spaniards attempt to lift the trophy for the fifth time in six seasons, while Barcelona are to play Lyon.
Liverpool, defeated finalists last season, sit on top of the Premier League, while Bayern have been far short of their own high standards in the Bundesliga.
“That’s the team of the hour, the league leaders in England, they are playing really good football, very physical, really stepping it up. We are looking forward to it,” Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said of the tie with Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are to take on Schalke 04, while Atletico Madrid, runners-up in 2014 and 2016, come up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus.
“A very difficult match, with few goals,” Juve vice president Pavel Nedved said, predicting the outcome. “No doubt Cristiano is the man of the Champions League — he has always shown that, with goals and victories.”
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund are to meet Tottenham Hotspur for the second season in a row, having faced each other in last year’s group stage, while AS Roma are to meet two-time former champions Porto.
“We’ve already met them [Tottenham] twice. A strong opponent; the chances are at 50-50,” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sky.
United, at a low ebb after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, meet PSG for the first time and a formidable task awaits against a side featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe — the world’s two most expensive players.
“It’s always difficult to play Manchester United,” PSG boss Thomas Tuchel said. “They have lots of experience in this competition... It’s always difficult to play at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have only managed one win in four fixtures this month, but the club’s former player Dennis Irwin said there is plenty of time to improve.
Manchester City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain said that the English champions would not have it easy against a Schalke outfit languishing in 13th place in Germany following a nightmare start.
“Teams that have been struggling in their leagues have still done very well in the Champions League,” Begiristain said. “Schalke will be difficult. After a winter break, German clubs are always very dangerous.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite