The draw for the knockout round of the Champions League was conducted at UEFA headquarters earlier today at Nyon, Switzerland, with Chelsea getting drawn against French outfit Lille in the competition’s round of 16.
The first leg will take place between February 15 and 23, at the Bridge, with the second leg to follow at Stade Pierre-Mauroy between March 8 and 16.
As runners-up in group H to Juventus, Chelsea were in the unseeded pot alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Sporting CP, Inter Milan, Benfica, Villarreal and RB Salzburg. On the other side, in the seeded pot of first-place finishers were Ajax, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Lille, Juve, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United — the last four whom we could not be drawn against due to CL rules.
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This will be the second time Chelsea meet Lille in their history. Their previous encounters took place in the Champions League’s group stage in the 2019-20 season, with the Blues winning both home and away encounters with a 2-1 scoreline.
