The next round in the Conference League was also drawn on Monday. For the “relegated” PSV Eindhoven a trip to Israel is on the agenda. Rapid Wien, meanwhile, will have to be patient.
As in the Europa League, the last 16 is preceded by an intermediate round in the Conference League. In addition to the eight group runners-up from the preliminary round, eight “relegated” teams from the Europa League also take part in this round – analogous to the Champions League, these are the eight third-placed teams in the group.
Among them were PSV Eindhoven with coach Roger Schmidt and Mario Götze. The Dutch got a feasible draw in Nyon: they will play Maccabi Tel Aviv on 17 and 24 February.
Rapid Wien, meanwhile, will have to be patient. The Austrians, who also entered the Conference League as third in the EL group, received the split draw of Tottenham Hotspur and Vitesse Arnhem. The background to this is the still open decision in Group G of the Conference League. As things stand, Arnhem would have progressed as runners-up. However, Spurs could still catch up with the Eredivisie representatives with a win at group winners Stade Rennes. The match was postponed due to a Corona outbreak at the London club. A make-up date has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, Olympique Marseille and Qarabag Agdam will clash between two former Champions League starters. The same goes for Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague. Their city rivals Sparta Prague have been drawn with Partizan Belgrade. Danish clubs Midtjylland (PAOK) and Randers FC (Leicester) are also still in the running. Celtic Glasgow will face Norwegian champions FK Bodö/Glimt.
Intermediate round from 17 February – draw was briefly interrupted
The intermediate round will take place on 17 and 24 February. The next round of 16 will be played on 10 March, when the top teams in the Conference League will also take part.
A brief moment of shock for the association officials was caused by a technical glitch during the draw. The monitors in the UEFA studio had apparently failed before the final draw, so the procedure was interrupted for a few minutes. Unlike the Champions League draw, which had to be repeated, there was no breach of protocol.
