Champions League Round of 16: Chelsea to face Bayern Munich

Chelsea’s last three Champions League campaigns have all ended in the Round of 16 at the hands of either Barcelona (2017-18) or PSG (2014-15, 2015-16). Those two teams, plus three others, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig were the five potential opponents for Chelsea in today’s knockout round draw in Nyon.

Former England international Kelly Smith and former Turkey international Hamit Altintop — the final will be held in Istanbul — helped conduct the draw, and Chelsea were the fifth unseeded team out of the bowl, with the ball for Bayern Munich following soon after.

Ouch.

That our group winners, Valencia, were drawn against Atalanta, on paper the weakest team left, is a bit annoying, but that’s the price you pay for not winning the group.

Bayern are struggling a bit in the Bundesliga this season, but are unlikely to stay a lowly fifth for too long.

The first leg will be played in mid-to-late February (18-19 or 25-26) and the second leg will follow in mid-March (10-11 or 17-18). Exact times and dates will be decided soon, but Chelsea, as the lower seed, will play the first leg at home. It will be our first match against them since the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, and our fifth competitive meeting of all time, one of which of course includes a certain May 19th night in 2012.

The draw in full for the 2019-20 Champions League Round of 16 is as follows:

Borussia Dortmund vs. PSG
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
Atalanta vs. Valencia
Atlético Madrid vs. Liverpool
CHELSEA vs. Bayern Munich
Lyon vs. Juventus
Tottenham vs. RB Leipzig
Napoli vs. Barcelona