Arsenal to play AC Milan in Champions League knockout stage
December 17th, 2011 - 6:59 pm ICT by IANS
London, Dec 17 (IANS) The draw for the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League has pitted English giants Arsenal and Chelsea against seven-time champions AC Milan and Napoli.
Arsenal who beat Milan at San Siro in 08-09 tournament will have their hands full with some marquee players like Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leaving the club in the summer.
Napoli, who will face 2008 finalists Chelsea, the Italian side has already dumped one English side out of the competition. The all-stars from Manchester City had no answer to the stubborn Italian defence and became their biggest scalp en route the last 16.
Defending champions Barcelona will face Germans Bayern Leverkusen, who finished second behind Chelsea in the group stages.
The Spanish side should have no problem in disposing the German side who have played in the tournament only six times. The same cannot be said for their Spanish counterpart Real Madrid who will face a tough trip to the freezing climate of CSKA Moscow.
First-timers Apoel Nicosia have a golden opportunity to progress to the next stage of the tournament as they face the struggling French side, Lyon.
Swiss surprise package FC Basel, who knocked out English giants Manchester United out of the tournament were drawn against the dangerous Bayern Munich.
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- Chelsea crumble under Napoli pressure, Real held in Moscow - Feb 22, 2012
- Leverkusen shock Chelsea; Arsenal, Valencia win (Roundup) - Nov 24, 2011
- City reject AC Milan's bid for Tevez - Jan 13, 2012
- Gomez extends stay with Bayern - Apr 04, 2012
- Four-goal Bayern crush Juve; joy for Real, AC Milan, CSKA - Dec 09, 2009
- Inter Milan made bid for Tevez, says club president - Jan 16, 2012
- Milan can reach Champions League final, says coach - Mar 17, 2012
Tags: ac milan, apoel, bayern munich, cska moscow, fabregas, fc basel, french side, german side, golden opportunity, group stages, italian side, knockout stage, marquee players, real madrid, samir nasri, san siro, spanish side, surprise package, time champions, uefa champions league