UEFA reaffirmed its opposition to the founding of breakaway competitions in a meeting with Super League backers A22 Sports on Tuesday.

It was revealed last month that media executive Bernd Reichart was heading up plans for a revival of the Super League, which endured a failed launch in the face of public and media pressure last year.

While nine of the competition's 12 founding clubs withdrew in the face of widespread criticism, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remain committed to the project.

Reichart, who represented A22 Sports at Tuesday's meeting, told the Financial Times in October there is "a lot of sympathy" for the Super League.

Following the meeting, however, UEFA declared European football's organisers remain committed to competitions based on "openness, solidarity and meritocracy".

"UEFA accommodated a meeting request from A22 Sports, a private commercial venture, today in Nyon by offering them a chance to address all the genuine representative authorities of European football," a UEFA statement began.

"Top management of UEFA, led by president Aleksander Ceferin, and high representatives from the national leagues, clubs, players and fans, stressed together that the opposition to the self-proclaimed Super League [ESL] remains overwhelming today as it has been since April 2021.

"In line with the unity of European football, UEFA and the participating football stakeholders once again unanimously rejected the rationale underpinning projects such as ESL during today's discussion. 

"The participants took note, with surprise, the claims of A22 Sports' CEO that this company is not representing any clubs in any capacity, including the three clubs who continue to openly support the project.

"UEFA and football stakeholders remain committed to the foundations of European football, which are based on openness, solidarity and meritocracy and serve broader objectives of sporting principles and societal interest, rather than on privilege and self-entitlement.

"European football will continue to stand together firmly for the positive future development of the game and society."

As well as Ceferin, several big-name executives attended the meeting, including LaLiga president Javier Tebas, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn.

Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have continued to call for the establishment of a Super League in recent months, and are awaiting the ruling in a legal case at the European Court of Justice after accusing UEFA of possessing a monopoly over international competitions.

Jurgen Klopp remains optimistic heading into the knockout stages of the Champions League, despite Liverpool being drawn against Real Madrid in a repeat of last season's final.

Liverpool finished as runners-up to Napoli in their European group, allowing them to be paired with holders Madrid in the competition's last-16 draw on Monday.

Klopp's side have lost two Champions League finals to Madrid in the past five seasons, but the German is looking forward to two "special" meetings with Carlo Ancelotti's men. 

"I know we have played Real Madrid in a couple of recent finals, but it is not so often that our two clubs have met in a two-legged tie, so now we can look forward to this happening," Klopp told Liverpool's website.

"Real's European record is the best around. We know this. But we also know that ours is not too bad. On top of this, we know that we have Anfield and everyone knows what this means.

"It is a really good draw, a really exciting draw. The games themselves are still a few months away, but it does not take a great deal of imagination to think what the atmosphere will be like at both games.

"There is a lot of football to be played before this, of course, so we will focus on each game as it comes. But yes, this draw has given us something special to look forward to."

Madrid have won all three of their Champions League meetings with Liverpool when facing them as European champions, and their former striker Emilio Butragueno believes Ancelotti's side will handle the pressure of being considered favourites.

"I think that for the world of football, it will be an exciting tie because of the history of the two clubs," Butragueno said after the draw.

"They are a very strong rival, who have had a lot of stability in recent years with the same coach and with the same group of players, and that makes it very dangerous.

"At the same time, we are the champions, and we will naturally do everything possible to qualify and return to the draw for the quarter-finals.

"We fully trust our players, they have shown us what they are capable of in moments of maximum pressure."

Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic is excited by the prospect of facing former BVB heroes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic after they drew Chelsea in the Champions League.

Dortmund finished second to Manchester City in Group G of the Champions League, and were subsequently handed a tie against Graham Potter's Blues in Monday's last-16 draw.

The first leg – set for February 15 at Signal Iduna Park – will see Aubameyang and Pulisic return to their old club, for whom the Gabon striker scored 98 Bundesliga goals in a prolific five-year stint.

Asked about the draw at a press conference on Monday, Terzic said: "With Chelsea, a top team from England awaits us.

"With Aubameyang and Pulisic, they have players that were with us up until a few years ago.

"I am also close friends with the coach Graham Potter. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But we won't play them now, but in February. 

"Until then, there is a lot to do, so much homework to do, but we definitely look forward to those games. 

"Attractive opponents like this are what we expect from the Champions League, and we will try to progress to the next round."

Meanwhile, Chelsea's director of football operations David Barnard is relieved they will not be facing former Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, who has made a flying start to life in England with Manchester City.

"We're looking forward to playing Dortmund because this will be the first time that we've come across them in the Champions League, it will be interesting from that point of view," he said. 

"They played in the City group, as you know, and hopefully we'll get some inside knowledge from City on this particular one. At least Haaland is not playing for Dortmund on this occasion.

"We've obviously got Pierre going back to one of his old clubs, so we are looking forward to it."

Julian Nagelsmann feels Bayern Munich's 100 per cent record in the Champions League group stage was "not rewarded" after being drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.

Nagelsmann's men won all six group games to finish top of Group C, including home and away victories over Inter and Barcelona, becoming the first side in competition history to be victorious in all of their group matches in back-to-back seasons.

Despite this, Monday's draw pitted Bayern against French champions PSG, who boast the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in their squad.

Nagelsmann believes his team have not received the full benefit for their group-stage heroics, telling reporters: "PSG are a difficult opponent.

"The perfect group phase is not rewarded with [drawing that opponent] - they have a lot of world-class players just like we do. 

"But this is the Champions League, so it's normal that there are no easy opponents in the round of 16."

PSG themselves went undefeated in the group stage, winning four and drawing two of their matches.

But a remarkable 6-1 win for Benfica over Maccabi Haifa on the final matchday saw Christophe Galtier's team have top spot snatched off them by virtue of the Portuguese side scoring more away goals.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn echoed Nagelsmann's sentiments on the difficulty of the draw, but also spoke of his excitement over watching two of Europe's elite clubs face off in a repeat of the 2019-20 final, which the Bavarian side won 1-0 thanks to a Kingsley Coman winner.

"We can look forward to two great games with the best players in Europe," Kahn told Sky. "I think these will be two highly attractive games."

Franco Baresi believes Milan are "ripe to go far" and must "think big" in the Champions League after they were drawn to face Tottenham in the round of 16.

The Serie A champions on Monday discovered they will do battle with Antonio Conte's side for a place in the quarter-finals next year.

Milan qualified from Group E as runners-up last week by hammering Salzburg 4-0, while Spurs won 2-1 at Marseille to avoid an early exit.

Rossoneri and Italy legend Baresi is bullish about the prospects of Stefano Pioli's men. who have won five of their past six matches and are second in Serie A behind unbeaten Napoli. 

Milan's honorary vice-president told Sky Sport: "Milan will prepare in the best possible way and will be ready to amaze again.

"I think the team is ripe to go far. We respect Tottenham, they are special matches in the Champions League, but we have to think big."

The Rossoneri finished bottom of their Champions League group with just one win from six matches last season, but Baresi says they are a different proposition now.

He added: "There is enthusiasm and the team is ripe for the knockout stages of the Champions League, last year's experience was important and now there is a conviction that we can play against anyone. Conte will be attentive to everything but Milan are up to it."

Baresi feels Milan have all the ingredients to trouble the best sides in Europe.

"Milan have risen to a level in general, we are producing incredible performances and the team plays football that they like and that creates [chances]," he said.

"We have a very strong midfield and a defence that is not afraid. Up front we create a lot and the fact it is essential that the players participate. San Siro will be of great help."

Spurs beat Milan 1-0 at the same stage of Europe's premier club competition 11 years ago, with Peter Crouch scoring the only goal at San Siro to secure a 1-0 aggregate win.

The first leg will be played either in the week commencing February 15 or 21.

Barcelona will face Manchester United in their return to the Europa League after the Blaugrana were drawn against the Premier League club in the knockout round play-offs.

Xavi's side dropped into Europe's second-tier competition for the second season running after failing to progress from the Champions League group stages, finishing behind Bayern Munich and Inter.

It sets up the outstanding tie with Erik ten Hag's United, who are looking to end a trophy drought stretching back to when they last won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017.

United came second to Real Sociedad in the Europa League group stage, ultimately missing out to La Real by one goal.

They have paid the price for their failure in that regard, with Barca arguably the toughest draw they could possibly get and La Real already through to the competition's last 16.

Joining Barca in dropping down from the Champions League are Juventus, though they will likely be much more content with their draw after being paired with Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Europa League knockout round play-offs:

Barcelona v Manchester United
Juventus v Nantes
Sporting CP v Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk v Rennes
Ajax v Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen v Monaco
Sevilla v PSV
Salzburg v Roma

Real Madrid and Liverpool will contest a repeat of last season's Champions League final during the round of 16 following Monday's draw.

Madrid reached the knockout stages as Group F winners, an outcome they will have been hoping would secure them a favourable tie.

But by being paired with Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti's men were given arguably the hardest draw possible in what will be a repeat of the 2021-22 and 2017-18 finals.

There will also be a replay of the 2019-20 showpiece between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

Die Roten prevented PSG from winning their first continental crown that year, with revenge on the cards for the Parisians early next year.

Chelsea, winners most recently in 2021, will go up against the youthful Borussia Dortmund, while Manchester City – beaten finalists last year – are also due to tussle with Bundesliga opposition in RB Leipzig.

Antonio Conte faces a return to his homeland and San Siro as Tottenham prepare to duel with Italian champions Milan, while Serie A leaders Napoli – who won their group ahead of Liverpool – will fancy their chances against Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt.

Last-16 draw in full:

RB Leipzig v Manchester City
Club Brugge v Benfica
Liverpool v Real Madrid
Milan v Tottenham
Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli
Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea
Inter v Porto
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich

Real Madrid and Liverpool will contest a repeat of last season's Champions League final during the round of 16 following Monday's draw.

Madrid reached the knockout stages as Group F winners, an outcome they will have been hoping would secure them a favourable tie.

But by being paired with Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti's men were given arguably the hardest draw possible in what will be a repeat of the 2021-22 and 2017-18 finals.

Ben Chilwell is expected to miss England's World Cup campaign after sustaining a "significant" hamstring injury, Chelsea have confirmed.

Chilwell limped out of the Blues' 2-1 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, leaving head coach Graham Potter concerned.

Potter said the injury represented a "blow" for Chelsea, adding: "Fingers crossed, when we get it scanned it isn't as bad, it can be not as severe, but clearly we are disappointed."

Chilwell's England team-mate Mason Mount said it was "tough to watch" the left-back suffer the injury less than three weeks before the World Cup gets under way, and Gareth Southgate's fears have been realised with the news that his hamstring problem is "significant".

A statement released by Chelsea on Saturday read: "Following the injury sustained in our recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, Ben has undergone a scan on his hamstring.

"Results show that Ben has suffered a significant injury and the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup.

"Ben will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club's medical department."

Chilwell's absence for the trip to Qatar deepens a defensive crisis for England, with fellow full-backs Reece James and Kyle Walker doubtful for the tournament.

Southgate only named two recognised left-backs in his squad for the Three Lions' most recent Nations League fixtures in September, and the likes of Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier may now be expected to deputise for Manchester United's Luke Shaw.

England begin their Group B campaign against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium on November 21.

Such is the instantaneous nature of social media that one miss, one innocuous incident can see a player written off as a "fraud" or "finished".

It's up to every one of us how much importance we tie to those individual comments. Maybe they're jokes, maybe they're serious. But when you see thousands of likes or retweets on them, you get a picture of how widespread these quick judgements are, and in that sense it doesn't really matter if they were in jest or not.

This isn't to say we didn't use to be like this, the difference is now many of us have at our fingertips an outlet that reaches thousands of people within seconds.

Darwin Nunez came in for such treatment in pre-season. During a meaningless friendly against Manchester United, the Uruguayan missed a big chance and quickly became the target of ridicule on social media.

Granted, he had recently been signed for a lot of money, but the hysteria – given the game had nothing riding on it – was remarkable. For what it's worth, he scored four in one match nine days later.

Since then, a lot of column inches have been dedicated to Nunez, which is a bit fairer now the season's in full flow.

One thing many agree about is how the striker appears to be one of the most chaotic footballers in existence, but this shouldn't cloud what he's doing well. He's raw, but if you scrape away the surface, the signs for Nunez and Liverpool are very promising.

Untapped potential

Jurgen Klopp hit the nail on the head last week when talking about Nunez's potential. In his eyes, the 23-year-old potentially has an "incredible" ceiling, but he acknowledged there was still so much work for the striker to put in that it was unclear how good he'll eventually become.

"Nobody knows, he doesn't know. Nobody knows, there is a lot [of potential] and it is so exciting, but he has to stay fit, he has to be available all the time," Klopp said. "That's all important in the life of a professional football player. We have to work on all different areas. Then, the potential is incredible. It's not only speed, the attitude is really good, he is a real worker.

"Again, I tell you – and I know there are some people out there who think, 'Technically, not sure, first touch...' – it is incredible. That he doesn't bring it on the pitch all the time, the first touch might be here or there sometimes, is nothing to do with technique, it is just a bit too late, awareness, orientation and all these kind of things, but it is all possible to develop and to learn. That's where we are at, it's really exciting, but where it can go, I have no idea."

There was always going to be scrutiny for Nunez because of the transfer fee, but would there have been as much were it not for Erling Haaland's ridiculous start? Probably not, as they were brought in around the same time and both considered by many as the so-called final pieces of the puzzle for their respective teams.

As the past few months have shown, Haaland is a phenomenon, that's not up for debate. But Nunez taking a little more time to truly settle doesn't make him any less promising than he was deemed at Benfica.

In fact, you could argue his output has exceeded expectations at this point.

Darwin's evolution

"His numbers are incredible, to be absolutely honest," Klopp also said of Nunez last week. "If you speak about xGs [expected goals], I am pretty sure his xGs are pretty high as well. He had a few chances which he missed, but he scored as well. He is involved in a lot of finishing moments, a lot of things."

Klopp is correct here – the data firmly backs him up. While Nunez's tally of three Premier League goals doesn't sound much, we shouldn't forget he's already served a three-match ban for getting sent off against Crystal Palace. His record of 0.6 goals every 90 minutes is bettered by only seven players.

With that in mind, Nunez's 432 Premier League minutes is fairly low, but he's managed to pack a lot of action into that limited period – hence the "chaotic" appraisal earlier.

He ranks inside the top 10 for goal involvements per 90 minutes (0.8) and minutes per goal (144), but it's in the shooting metrics where Nunez's productivity really shines through.

No one is registering more attempts on a per-90-minute basis than Nunez (6.7), while only Haaland (2.6) is getting more shots on target than the Uruguay forward (2.5) each game.

But perhaps crucially, and back to Klopp's point, his non-penalty xG (per 90) is 0.76, only fractionally behind Haaland's league-best 0.81.

Of course, the issue here is Nunez isn't finishing as many chances as the average player would be expected to given the quality of the openings, while Haaland has been exceptionally ruthless with his opportunities.

But it would be more concerning if he wasn't getting chances at all.

Nunez's struggles could be explained by any number of factors such as confidence, adaptation, the roles he's being asked to play, maybe even a desperate need to impress, and that might explain some of his more erratic decision-making.

But the expectation is that with time and composure Nunez's figures will eventually level up with his xG. On the evidence of his attributes until now, when they do, Liverpool will have an exceptional striker on their hands.

Manchester City have condemned "vile" racist abuse from Sevilla fans towards Rico Lewis during Wednesday's Champions League clash, stating "we will not tolerate any discrimination".

The 17-year-old Lewis's memorable Champions League debut at Etihad Stadium was marred by racist abuse after City confirmed two arrests had been made amid a continued club and police investigation.

"Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse that Rico Lewis was subject to from Sevilla supporters at yesterday's match," a club statement read on Thursday.

"We understand that two arrests have been made and are continuing to work with Sevilla and GMP [Greater Manchester Police] to investigate this matter.

"We will not tolerate discrimination of any kind at our stadium and will be offering our full support to Rico following these vile incidents."

Sevilla said disciplinary action will be taken should the two culprits be proven guilty.

"Sevilla strongly condemn the behaviour of two fans in the away section of Manchester City's stadium, who were identified and accused of allegedly behaving in a racist manner towards Manchester City player Rico Lewis," a statement from the LaLiga said.

"Sevilla are awaiting official confirmation of these facts, of which they have been made aware by Manchester City, and if these are proven, the two fans will be removed from the list of members.

"Sevilla would like to point out that there have never been any racist or xenophobic episodes at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium and that its fans have always been committed to the fight against racism."

Lewis scored the equaliser in the comeback 3-1 victory over Sevilla and became the youngest player in history to score on his Champions League debut.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier was "proud" despite his team being astonishingly beaten to top spot in Champions League Group H by Benfica, an outcome that left captain Marquinhos frustrated.

Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Nuno Mendes at Juventus, either side of Leonardo Bonucci's equaliser, on Wednesday seemed to have Galtier's side on course to win the group courtesy of a 2-1 triumph.

However, Benfica scored five unanswered second-half goals at Maccabi Haifa to win 6-1, with Joao Mario's 92nd-minute effort snatching first place on away goals scored.

PSG and Benfica could not be separated by their head-to-head record, goals scored or conceded, making the away goals scored tie-breaker a Champions League first.

Finishing second means the Ligue 1 champions will face one of the group winners in the last 16, but Galtier generally seemed content, acknowledging how unusual and unfortunate it was to be pipped in such fashion.

"Of course, we have to value our campaign," he told reporters. "We beat Juventus twice, we got 14 points, we scored a lot of goals and in the end we finished second on the number of goals scored away from home, and that's how it is.

"But obviously I'm still very proud of my group, of my team in this group stage. We had a tough match, we knew we were going to have a difficult match, but we still managed to win, and then there is this scenario [Benfica scoring their sixth goal] that happens in the 92nd minute.

"Nobody could have imagined that. We finished second on the number of goals scored away from home. That's incredible."

But Marquinhos was rather more subdued as he struggled to hide his irritation despite claiming he was attempting to be optimistic.

"We're trying to take the positives out of it," he told reporters. "There were obviously two feelings, because we won against Juve in a difficult match, but we finished second, whereas the aim was to get this first place. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed.

"You have to look at the good aspects of things, there are good things to take away from this group stage, even if there are things to improve.

"In the Champions League, this first phase was important, but it is really played out in the second half of the season.

"That's when we have to perform well, be decisive, be good, because it's all about the end of the season."

Nevertheless, Marquinhos did value PSG's ability to see out an important win against a big club even though their performance was hardly spectacular.

"We have already seen teams win without necessarily being the best or playing the most beautiful football, but knowing how to be effective," he continued. "If we manage to be effective in these decisive moments, we can do great things.

"Even if there were difficult moments in this match, we managed to score and that unlocks a match. So, when we win a match like this, even if it wasn't our best game, we have to tell ourselves that it's important to know how to play like that too."

Hector Bellerín believes Xavi and Barcelona need time to build something special as the defender hopes to be part of a new era of success.

Barca showed their ambition in the transfer market ahead of Xavi's first full season as head coach, with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde among a host of new signings to arrive at Camp Nou.

Bellerin was among the recruits, arriving at the club where he started his career on a one-year deal.

Barcelona failed to qualify for the Champions League round of 16 but are just a point behind leaders Real Madrid in the LaLiga table, with 10 wins from 12 games.

Full-back Bellerin suggested Xavi, who replaced the sacked Ronald Koeman last November, may need the same sort of time that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have been afforded.

He told Catalunya Radio: "Football is neither black nor white. There are many conditioning factors that can affect it.

"There are many signings. These projects take time to bear fruit. Klopp and Guardiola did not win anything in their first season. Things take time."

Bellerin had been sidelined due to injury since joining the Blaugrana, but he came through a 4-2 Champions League win at Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday and hopes to kick on.

The 27-year-old said: "I'm very happy to be here. It's a dream I've always had. It's been the first full 90 minutes I've had all season."

Former Arsenal man Bellerin would welcome the opportunity to remain with the Catalan giants beyond the end of the season.

He said: "At the moment, I have a one-year contract. I would like to renew, but it depends on both parties."

Roger Schmidt lauded Benfica's self-belief after his side clinched top spot in their Champions League group in thrilling fashion.

Benfica had already qualified from Group H ahead of Wednesday's trip to Maccabi Haifa, though having drawn both of their games with Paris Saint-Germain, they needed a huge improvement to their goal difference to beat Christophe Galtier's side, and did what was required by claiming a 6-1 victory.

At 5-1 up, with PSG beating Juve 2-1, Benfica were set to finish second and would be more likely to be handed a tie against one of Europe's heavyweights.

However, Joao Mario scored in stoppage time to make it 6-1, and Schmidt believes it is exactly what his squad deserves.

"I congratulated the players, they played a fantastic game, they played at a great level," Schmidt told reporters.

"We actually did not manage to beat PSG in terms of points, but in the end we were ahead on away goals," he said.

"The players deserved it, [we played] our campaign in the best way. We wanted to finish first, we believed in ourselves. We looked at the points, but also at the goals. It is a great achievement to achieve this. The players deserve it."

Five second-half goals proved to be the difference in Israel and Schmidt highlighted momentum as the key, with Benfica scoring six times in a UEFA competition for the first time since September 1991.

"The objective was to win. We respected the opponent, it was not easy to face Maccabi, then we had our momentum with the fourth, the fifth goal," he added.

"They knew what they could do, then we gave our all for the sixth goal. It's a moment and an opportunity to achieve something important.

"They believed, they knew about the difference. It was the moment, it was our form, there was momentum from the team."

Benfica have gone through a Champions League group stage unbeaten for only the third time ever (W4 D2), also doing so in 1994-95 and 2011-12, topping the group in each of those seasons. 

While they will avoid the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Chelsea, Benfica could face any of Liverpool, Club Brugge, Inter, Eintracht Frankfurt, Milan, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.

Massimiliano Allegri has urged Juventus to use anger at their Champions League failure as motivation to succeed in the Europa League.

A 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Turin saw Juve become only the second Italian side to lose five of six group stage matches in the competition, after Roma in 2004-05 – though their elimination had already been confirmed.

Juve required a victory to cement their spot in the knockout stages of the Europa League but ultimately must be thankful to Benfica for firing five second-half goals against Maccabi Haifa to prevent the Allegri's side from exiting continental football entirely.

In the Europa League, Juve will be considered to be among the favourites to go all the way and Allegri has urged his side to use their anger to propel them to better results in UEFA's second-tier club competition.

"We played a good game, it's a shame about the result," he told reporters after the defeat.

"We are in the Europa League, from tomorrow we must turn the page for the championship. We must be angry and immediately resume work and walk.

"On one hand there is reason to be satisfied to have reached the Europa League, on the other hand there is anger for the elimination from the Champions League.

"I'm still very angry and we have to carry this anger inside us in the next games in Europe."

One positive from the defeat to PSG was the return of Federico Chiesa from injury, who had not featured since January, though his recovery will not be rushed.

"He has a lot of desire, he must be managed until the World Cup. We have to take time to have him in the best condition in January," Allegri added.