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)

Six years into his Stuttgart career, Nikolas Nartey finally scored his first goal for the club to seal a thrilling 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Tuesday.

The Danish midfielder found space between two defenders to direct Josha Vagnoman's low cross into the net and turned away, shouting in celebration.

Nartey had been with Stuttgart since 2019 but barely played for much of that time. He spent two years on loan before a series of injuries wreaked havoc on his career. He didn't play at all in 2023-24 and had little game time the following year but has become a regular starter this season.

Until Nartey's breakthrough, it had seemed like a first-time scorer of a different sort had salvaged a draw for Frankfurt.

Three minutes into his Bundesliga debut off the bench, new signing Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab made it 2-2 to finish off a rapid team move that began with goalkeeper Kaua Santos and went the length of the field. The 21-year-old forward had never before played above the third tier of German soccer.

Frankfurt took the early lead when Rasmus Kristensen scored in the fifth minute, but goals from Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav put Stuttgart ahead 2-1 by halftime. Both teams had plenty of chances as Santos and Stuttgart's Alexander Nübel made crucial saves.

Stuttgart moves up to third with the win. Frankfurt is seventh, with one win from its last eight games in all competitions.

A day after Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac signaled that challenging Bayern for the title is out of his team's reach, Dortmund cut Bayern's lead to eight points with a straightforward 3-0 win over Werder Bremen.

Defender Nico Schlotterbeck headed second-place Dortmund in front in the 11th before Marcel Sabitzer and Serhou Guirassy scored to make sure of the win.

“That we can't attack Bayern, I think everyone can see that,” Kovac said Monday, adding his aim is a top-four finish.

Unbeaten Bayern, which beat Wolfsburg 8-1 last week, can restore an 11-point lead by beating Cologne on Wednesday.

Mainz beat fellow relegation candidate Heidenheim 2-1 for its first Bundesliga win since September. New Mainz coach Urs Fischer is unbeaten in six Bundesliga and Conference League games since he was hired last month. Mainz moves up from last place in the 18-team league to 16th, dropping Heidenheim to last.

Bayer Leverkusen's game at Hamburger SV was postponed at short notice over concerns around the stadium's roof. It's the third game in the Bundesliga to be called off in recent days following heavy snow in northern Germany.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Mainz's Nadiem Amiri celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 andFC Heidenheim in Mainz, Germany, Tuesday Jan. 13, 2026. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy, second right, celebrates with teammates after scoring the third goal against Werder Bremen during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen in Dortmund, Germany, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Stuttgart players celebrate with their fans after the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday Jan. 13, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Frankfurt's Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab celebrates scoring with Arthur Theate, left, and Robin Koch, right, during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday Jan. 13, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Stuttgart's Nikolas Nartey, front, and Frankfurt Aurèle Amenda in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday Jan. 13, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)