Champions League Draw Redo: Real Madrid Goes From Facing Benfica to Getting PSG

After a procedural error nullified the initial Champions League draw for the last 16, here's who will actually play one another to open the knockout stage.

The Champions League draw for the round of 16 is confirmed—for real, this time—with Atlético Madrid likely feeling a bit better about its prospects of reaching the quarterfinals, while Real Madrid and Liverpool are not going to be too thrilled with how the redo broke.

The original draw was nullified after an error that initially saw Manchester United paired with Villarreal even though they were in the same group and then United's ball excluded from Atlético Madrid's pool of potential opponents.

UEFA claimed after the initial draw that there was “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.”

The #UCLdraw will be redone after an error in the initial procedure! Man United’s ball being omitted from Atlético Madrid’s pool of potential opponents forces UEFA to scrap and start from scratch

(via @mjcritchley)pic.twitter.com/24MbSmdw33

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) December 13, 2021

As a result, the draw was voided and forced to be redone a few hours later. The original pairings were: Benfica vs. Real Madrid, Villarreal vs. Man City, Atlético Madrid vs. Bayern Munich, Salzburg vs. Liverpool, Inter Milan vs. Ajax, Sporting CP vs. Juventus, Chelsea vs. Lille and PSG vs. Manchester United, with the last one seemingly setting up another Champions League showdown between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The redo only yielded one of the same pairings, with defending champion Chelsea again being drawn vs. Ligue 1 champion Lille—a matchup that pits U.S. wingers Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah against one another.

The other seven are: Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich, Sporting vs. Man City, Benfica vs. Ajax, Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United, Villarreal vs. Juventus, Inter Milan vs. Liverpool and PSG vs. Real Madrid.

Round of 16 draw ✔️

Which tie are you most excited for?#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/QvZoT0yxqi

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 13, 2021

That means Real Madrid went from potentially facing Benfica to drawing the star-powered juggernaut of PSG in a tie that is laced with subplots. There's the Kylian Mbappé element, with the French star widely expected to leave Paris for Madrid for free in the summer after the Spanish power's attempts to secure him for a fee this summer. And there's the Super League backdrop, with PSG resisting the efforts spearheaded by Real Madrid president Floréntino Perez to join the (ultimately failed) breakaway effort and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi rising to greater power within the European Club Association. 

There's also Messi's return to Spain, where he played his entire pro career before the shocking and forced summer move to PSG amid Barcelona's financial catastrophe, and Sergio Ramos's return to Madrid, with the veteran center back now among the stars in Paris after his longtime run as Real's captain.

Liverpool, meanwhile, went from having a more heavily favorable matchup vs. Salzburg to landing a more dangerous Inter Milan side, while Atléti will surely be more welcoming of a pairing with Manchester United—Ronaldo's extensive history against the club notwithstanding—rather than landing a more explosive and threatening Bayern side.