Sporting News
Tuesday December 14, 2021
After the drama and controversy surrounding the decision to redo the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw after the serious errors that compromised it, it was only right for the Round of 16 schedule to open with the best matchup produced by the re-draw.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid will be the first of the eight series to kick off Feb. 15 at the Parc des Prince in Paris.
It will be a showdown of heavyweights, with all eyes on ex-Madrid captain Sergio Ramos going against the team he helped lead to glory, and PSG's Lionel Messi facing an old nemesis which he's owned over the years.
The complete Round of 16 schedule follows below. Each home-and-home series will be played over two legs, and the team with the most goals scored at the end of the second leg will advance to the quarterfinals.
There is one major rule change to keep in mind ahead of these Round of 16 matches: For the first time since 1965, there is no away goals tiebreaker in the case that the aggregate-goal series are tied after 180 minutes of action.
Teams will head straight into a 30-minute extra time session, followed by a penalty-kick shootout if the deadlock persists.
The first legs will be played across four matchdays in February: Feb. 15-16 and Feb. 22-23. The second legs will follow three weeks later.
The group winners get to host the second legs as a perk for finishing as the top team in their group. It's perceived as an advantage to host the second leg because if extra time or penalty kicks are required, they would occur at home.