Champions League draw serves up a Madrid derby, Bayern vs. Leverkusen and Liverpool-PSG

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — A Madrid derby. A German classic. A rare meeting between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Champions League got more heavyweight clashes when the draw for the round of 16 was made Friday.

Defending champion Real Madrid’s reward for ousting 2023 title winner Manchester City this week in the knockout playoffs is two city derbies against Atletico Madrid — the team it beat in the final in 2014 and 2016.

Diego Simeone is still Atletico's coach a decade later, again facing Carlo Ancelotti who won the 2014 final. Ancelotti later took jobs across Europe before returning to Madrid and winning two more Champions League titles for a competition record five as a coach.

Bayern Munich was paired with Bayer Leverkusen — the Bundesliga leader against its defending champion, who played a tight 0-0 draw just last weekend. Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has never lost to Bayern in six games across three seasons, including three meetings this season.

Liverpool was the top-seeded team in the draw after finishing first in the 36-team standings last month but still got a tough assignment as the Premier League leader was paired with No. 15 seed PSG.

Liverpool and PSG have never met in knockout games in the Champions League or the old European Cup. Their previous meetings were in the group stage in 2018-19, trading home wins in a season that ended with Liverpool winning its sixth European Cup title.

The first-leg games will be played March 4-5, with the return games one week later.

Also in the draw, No. 2 seed Barcelona was paired with Benfica — which it beat 5-4 in Lisbon one month ago — Arsenal will face PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan plays Feyenoord.

Feyenoord goes back to San Siro, where it already eliminated AC Milan this week in the knockout playoffs round. All three Italian teams in the playoffs lost, including another exit to a Dutch team when PSV got past Juventus in extra time.

Club Brugge, which got into the knockout stage in the 24th and final qualification place, will face Aston Villa, which it already beat in November. Borussia Dortmund will play Lille.

The Madrid and German matchups were not possible in the old Champions League format where teams from the same country could not face each other in the round of 16. The new tennis-style seeded bracket allows for those derbies, and for teams to reunite after already playing each other in the league phase of the competition.

Friday's draw also put Real Madrid and Liverpool in the same half of the bracket and on a path to meet in the semifinals.

Both could have English opponents in the quarterfinals. The Madrid derby winner will face Arsenal or PSV, and if Liverpool eliminates PSG it will face Villa or Brugge.

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Brazilian former player Giovane Elber shows the ticket of Spanish club Atletico de Madrid, during the UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

The group formations are shown on an electronic panel next to the Champions League trophy after the UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique grimaces during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, left, celebrates with Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso speaks to the media during a press conference ahead of the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in Leverkusen, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League play off first leg soccer match between Celtic Glasgow and Bayern Munich at the Celtic Park Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the Champions League playoff second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks of credit-card companies are tumbling on Monday after President Donald Trump threatened moves that could eat into their profits. The rest of Wall Street, meanwhile, was showing only modest signals of concern after tensions ramped to a much higher degree between the White House and the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high as U.S. stocks drifted through mixed morning trading, while prices for gold and other investments that tend to do well when investors are nervous rose. The value of the U.S. dollar also dipped against the euro and other currencies amid concerns that the Fed may have less independence in setting interest rates to keep inflation under control.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged.

Some of the market's sharpest drops came from credit-card companies, as Synchrony Financial, Capital One Financial and American Express all fell between 4% and 7%. They sank after Trump said he wanted to put a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates for a year. Such a move could eat into profits for credit card companies.

But it was a separate move by Trump that was grabbing more attention on Wall Street. Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve's chair, Jerome Powell, said the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over his testimony about renovations underway at its headquarters.

With an unusual video statement released on Sunday, Powell said his testimony and the renovations are “pretexts” for the threat of criminal charges, which is really “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

The Fed has been locked in a feud with the White House about interest rates. Trump has been loudly calling for lower interest rates, which would make borrowing cheaper for U.S. households and companies and could give the economy a kickstart.

The Fed did cut its main interest rate three times last year and has indicated more cuts may be arriving this year. But it’s been moving slowly enough that Trump has nicknamed Powell “Too Late.”

In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, President Donald Trump insisted he didn’t know about the investigation into Powell. When asked if the investigation is intended to pressure Powell on rates, Trump said, “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way.”

Powell’s term as chair ends in May, and Trump administration officials have signaled that he could name a potential replacement this month. Trump has also sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.

The Fed has traditionally operated separately from the rest of Washington, making its decisions on interest rates without having to bend to political whims. Such independence, the thinking goes, gives it freedom to make unpopular moves that are necessary for the economy’s long-term health.

Keeping interest rates high, for example, could slow the economy and frustrate politicians looking to please voters. But it could also be the medicine needed to get high inflation under control.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to 4.19% from 4.18% late Friday. A less independent Fed and higher inflation in the long term could also erode the value of the U.S. dollar, and it slipped 0.3% against the euro and 0.4% against the Swiss franc.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Stocks jumped 1.4% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai for two of the world’s bigger gains following reports that Chinese leaders were preparing more help for the economy.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

James Lamb works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Daniel Kryger works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers talk near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)