{"id":300621,"date":"2023-12-18T13:24:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=300621"},"modified":"2023-12-18T13:24:32","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:24:32","slug":"champions-league-last-16-draw-is-dubbed-boring-and-worst-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/champions-league-last-16-draw-is-dubbed-boring-and-worst-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions League last-16 draw is dubbed 'boring' and 'WORST ever'"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fans have been quick to blast the Champions League Round of 16 fixtures after Arsenal and Manchester City learned of their opponents in the next round of the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Premier League\u00a0sides were among the 16 clubs in the draw hosted in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday morning, for fixtures set to take place in February and March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Defending champions City were paired with Danish side FC Copenhagen, who qualified at the expense of Manchester United, while Arsenal will face Portuguese giants Porto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But viewers were all together disappointed with the lack of heavyweight clashes, as the likes of PSG\u00a0and Inter Milan – who finished as runners-up in the group stage – avoided all of the favoured group winners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many were united in labelling it as the least appealing slate of knockout fixtures. One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Probably the worst Champions League draw ever.’<\/p>\n
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Former Chelsea skipper John Terry was the special guest at the draw hosted at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Fans were disappointed with the slate of fixtures for the last-16 of the Champions League<\/p>\n
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Many took to social media to label the draw as ‘boring’ or ‘the worst ever’ after several European heavyweights avoided one another in the next round\u00a0<\/p>\n
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‘Could genuinely be the worst round of 16 draw I\u2019ve ever seen,’ said another. A third echoed that sentiment, simply writing: ‘Worst UCL draw ever.’<\/p>\n
The absence of established European Cup campaigners and the shock exits of Newcastle and Man United have played a part in the underwhelming list of ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘This is an awful draw.’ Added another fan. ‘No Chelsea or Liverpool genuinely leaves it empty.’<\/p>\n
Away from the English teams, fourteen-time winners Real Madrid were draw against RB Leipzig, while their city rivals face a stern test against last season’s finalists Inter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Terry’s former club were one of the recent winners who were absent from the draw following their dismal league campaign last term<\/p>\n
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Some fans were keen to point out the interesting ties, even if they were few and far between<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n Surprise package Real Sociedad were rewarded with a clash against PSG after topping their group and Barcelona will welcome Napoli to the Olympic Stadium.<\/p>\n Harry Kane and Bayern were drawn against Lazio and Borussia Dortmund’s bid to return to a Wembley Champions League final will take them to runaway Eredivisie leaders PSV.\u00a0<\/p>\n Monday’s draw threw up a few competitive fixtures, even if they are lacking in star power, but that has not been enough to please the majority of onlookers.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Absolute awful draw.’ One fan wrote. ‘Inter – Atl\u00e9tico, Napoli – Barca, Leipzig – Real. Those are the only half-decent matches, the rest will be absolute boring.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘At least Bayern and Dortmund have very good chances for the CL QF.’<\/p>\n