Champions League last-16 draw was declared void after huge error occurred

The Champions League round of 16 has thrown up some memorable matches over the years, but there have also been some controversial moments

As six Premier League teams await their opponents in the Champions League round of 16, fans will hope there is no repeat of the 2021 edition. Back then, the draw needed to be voided after what was described as a technical error.

The 2021/22 season came before the competition moved to its current league phase format. That meant the draw for the last 16 took place in December, with the first knockout fixtures held after the turn of the year.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea were the Premier League’s four representatives that season. All four made it out of their groups but that’s when things started to go wrong.

United were wrongly listed as potential opponents for Villarreal in the first knockout round – something which shouldn’t have been allowed as the two sides had been in the same group. They were also left out of the list of potential opponents for Atletico Madrid – another error.

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READ MORE: Champions League last 16 draw as it stands with Arsenal and Liverpool paths clearerREAD MORE: Arsenal and Man City face having fixtures moved as Premier League issue strong statement

Ralf Rangnick’s side were paired with Paris Saint-Germain, who they eliminated at the same stage of the 2018/19 tournament under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, the error was spotted by Atleti.

“We are speaking to UEFA to check for an explanation and resolution after the errors committed during the Champions League round-of-16 draw,” Atleti said in a statement shared on social media. Eventually, UEFA decided the only solution was to run the whole draw again.

“Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League round of 16,” a spokesperson for the body said. “As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 3 p.m. CET (9 a.m. ET/ 2 p.m. GMT),”

When the draw was redone, United and Atletico were indeed paired together. In fact, three of the four English teams got new opponents.

Chelsea were matched with Lille in both draws, the only one of the eight match-ups which stayed the same. Liverpool got Inter Milan after the initial draw pitted them against Red Bull Salzburg, while Manchester City’s opponents changed from Villarreal to Sporting CP.

As group winners, Rangnick’s United played the first leg away from home and drew 1-1 in Spain thanks to Anthony Elanga’s goal. However, they fell to a 1-0 home defeat in the return leg to see their European run end.

Atleti’s run ended in the very next round, again by the narrowest of margins. They lost 1-0 at Manchester City in the first leg and were held to a goalless draw back at Estadio Metropolitano.

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