Bengaluru, February 10: As UEFA Champions League action returns this week, Liverpool were drawn to face Manchester United in the youth section of the same tournament.
European football's governing body on Friday (February 9) released the fixtures for the round of 16 matches of the UEFA Youth League, which features an exciting fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United.
United's youth squad, which is coached by former player Nicky Butt, sealed their place in the knockout rounds only last week after a 2-0 win over Brodarac. The Liverpool youth team, managed by none other than former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, topped a group containing Sevilla, Spartak Moscow and Maribor.
The last time these two teams met was in December 2017 in the English U18 league. Liverpool, who had to play with 10 players for more than an hour, salvaged a 2-2 draw against the Red Devils back then.
Apart from these two, three other Premier League teams - Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur - also qualified for the next round.
City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea all qualified as group leaders along with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Porto. On the other hand, Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Basel and Salzburg came through the play-off round as runners-up.
FC Red Bull Salzburg are the defending champions of this competition. The Austrian team beat a promising Benfica side 2-1 in last year's final.
⚽️ The official result of the #UYL round of 16 draw...
— UEFA Youth League (@UEFAYouthLeague) February 9, 2018
🗓️Ties to be played 20/21 February. pic.twitter.com/8aSXw8G0VK
Full draw (highlighting the most exciting matches):
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
Manchester City vs Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid vs Basel
Porto vs FC Salzburg
PSG vs Barcelona
Liverpool vs Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur vs Monaco
Chelsea vs Feyenoord
The ties will be played on Feb 20/21