NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Bodø/Glimt’s stunning run as the most unlikely Champions League challenger in recent years now brings Sporting Lisbon to its Arctic Circle home in the round of 16 next month.
Bodø/Glimt evaded a possible quick rematch with Manchester City when the 2023 title winner was paired with Real Madrid yet again in Friday’s draw.
It will be the fifth straight year that record 15-time European champion Madrid and Man City clash in the knockout phase, and they also met in December in the league phase. The winner could face Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
Man City’s 3-1 loss in the Norwegian fishing town last month sent Bodø/Glimt on a four-win surge in the Champions League — all during the Norwegian offseason — capped by eliminating Inter Milan from the knockout playoffs round in San Siro this week.
“We have been able to learn,” Bodø/Glimt chief executive Frode Thomassen said of a team that failed to win any of its six Champions League games from September to December.
Thomassen laughed at the suggestion his in-form club could now start favored to advance. “I think we will be the underdog if we are playing any of those teams,” he said.
Bodø/Glimt is the first Norwegian team to go so far in the elite competition since 1996-97. Then, Rosenborg advanced from the 16-team group stage direct to the quarterfinals.
First-leg games are on March 10 or 11 with the return games one week later.
Club World Cup rematch
Title holder Paris Saint-Germain was paired with Chelsea, in a rematch of the Club World Cup final in July that the London club won 3-0 at MetLife Stadium near New York.
Chelsea was then coached by Enzo Maresca, who was fired on Jan. 1 and replaced by Liam Rosenior.
As coach of Strasbourg, Rosenior faced PSG at Parc des Princes this season for a 3-3 draw in October in the French league.
The winner will earn a quarterfinal against Galatasaray or Liverpool, which PSG eliminated in the round of 16 last year as a powerful statement win en route to a first Champions League title.
Galatasaray beat Liverpool 1-0 in the league phase in September, helping send the English champion into a two-month tailspin of poor form and shocking losses.
“It is always nice to go there knowing what to expect this time,” Liverpool great Ian Rush told The Associated Press after the draw.
Rush noted the Turkish champion scored five times at home to Juventus last week. “We cannot let that happen at Liverpool,” he said.
Spain vs. England
Madrid-Man City is one of three Spain vs. England matchups in the round of 16 and will arrive three months after coach Pep Guardiola’s team won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. An Erling Haaland penalty was decisive just before half time.
“We had a really good game already,” Man City sporting director Hugo Viana said, adding: “There is no favorite in this kind of competition, in these kind of games.”
Madrid eliminated Man City three times in the past four seasons, with the English club advancing from their semifinal in 2023.
One section of the draw is entirely Spain vs England. Barcelona plays Newcastle and Atletico Madrid faces Tottenham with the winners next month meeting in the quarterfinals.
Tough half of bracket
Bayern Munich was paired with Atalanta, the last remaining Italian team, and Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen.
The winner between Arsenal and Leverkusen will play Bodø/Glimt or Sporting in the quarterfinals.
The draw Friday set the seeded bracket through to the final on May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Real Madrid and Barcelona cannot meet until the final, and nor can Premier League title rivals Arsenal and Man City.
One half of the bracket includes PSG, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich. Only one of those teams can be in Budapest.
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