E-Paper
Knockout punch
David Beckham is set to return to Old Trafford after Manchester United were drawn with AC Milan on Friday for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
David Beckham is set to return to Old Trafford after Manchester United were drawn with AC Milan on Friday for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The midfielder, who won the Champions League with United in 1999 before joining Real Madrid in 2003, will return to Milan in January for a second loan spell from Los Angeles Galaxy. He left United for Real Madrid in 2003 and has not yet come up against the club where he made his name.
United's director of communications Phil Townsend said, “It will be fantastic. I think everyone at Old Trafford will be absolutely delighted, it's what the Champions League is all about.
“He (Beckham) will get a fantastic reception, as players coming back usually do at Manchester United. He was a terrific servant for the club and we all hope he will be playing.”
Chelsea take on former manager Jose Mourinho after being drawn against his current club Inter Milan.
Mourinho was dubbed the ‘Special One’ when he lead Chelsea to Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 before leaving early in the 2007/2008 season.
Arsenal take on Portuguese side Porto as all three English clubs play the first leg of their ties away from home after winning their groups.
Spanish clubs avoided big names with champions Barcelona drawn against German side Stuttgart and Real Madrid up against French club Lyon.
German giants Bayern Munich meet Fiorentina and CSKA Moscow were drawn with Sevilla.
Italians bitter at draw
Italy was cursing it's luck once again as Friday's Champions League draw pitted both Milan giants against English opposition.
In each of the previous two seasons, three Italian teams reached the knock-out rounds and every time they fell to English opposition.
Not since AC Milan beat Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final has an Italian team triumphed against English opposition in the competition's knock-out phases.
Italian champions Inter Milan have been defeated in the second round by Liverpool and Manchester United in the last two seasons while United beat AS Roma in the quarter-finals twice in a row before that.
Last year Roma were beaten by Arsenal, who beat Milan the year before, while Chelsea did for Juventus a year ago.
With Inter facing Cheslea and Milan coming up against Man United this year, only Fiorentina escaped the English but they drew German giants Bayern Munich.
It left Italian media quaking in their boots. “A bitter draw for the Italians,” claimed news agency Ansa while Corriere dello Sport weighed in with: “A draw to make you shudder.”
Inter Milan former player Luis Figo insisted his team would not fear Chelsea. “At this stage all the teams are strong but we have the quality to beat anynone,” he said.
Reds play Unirea, Juve meet Ajax
Liverpool take on another team knocked out of the Champions League after being drawn against Romania side Unirea Urziceni in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Italian club Juventus face a stiff test as they drew Dutch club Ajax, and would meet either English side Fulham or titleholders Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine.
Everton are up against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, Spanish club Villareal meet German champions Wolfsburg, Greek club Panathinaikos face AS Roma and Portuguese side Benfica are paired with Hertha Berlin.
In other last-32 ties, French side Marseille face FC Copenhagen, spanish club Athletic Bilbao play Anderlecht and troubled La Liga club Atletico Madrid are up against Turkish side Galatasaray.
