Bayern have been handed a tough but highly attractive first knockout round tie in this season’s Champions League as the 2013 winners and current Bundesliga league leaders were paired with Turin giants Juventus in Monday lunchtime’s draw for the last sixteen. The tie is a re-run of the quarter-final three seasons ago and marks a reunion for Arturo Vidal and Kingsley Coman, who joined Munich from the Serie A side last summer, and also for former Bayern striker Mario Mandzukic, now on the books in northern Italy.
The draw ceremony was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland from midday CET on Monday and was conducted by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti, and former Internazionale star Javier Zanetti as the official ambassador for final venue Milan.
The 16-team line-up featured seven former winners of Europe's elite club competition and nine of last year's knockout contenders, with a total of three teams each from Spain and England, two each from Germany and Italy, and one each from France, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia and Portugal.
As group winners, Bayern play the first leg of the Round of 16 tie away from home at the Juventus Stadium on 23 February, with the return at the Allianz Arena in Munich on 16 March. This year’s final takes place at the San Siro in Milan on Saturday 28 May 2015.
Champions League first knockout round draw in full:
KAA Gent v Wolfsburg
AS Roma v Real Madrid
Paris St Germain v Chelsea
Arsenal v Barcelona
Juventus v Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven v Atletico Madrid
Benfica v Zenit St Petersburg
Dynamo Kyiv v Manchester City
