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Chelsea and Barca clash once again

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World and European player of the year Ronaldinho will face Chelsea for a second successive season

NYON, Switzerland -- Premier League champions Chelsea have been drawn against Spanish champions Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 - a repeat of their clash at the same stage 12 months ago.

Other draw highlights see Real Madrid face Arsenal in another Spanish-English encounter and Bayern Munich taking on AC Milan.

Defending champions Liverpool will be confident of reaching the quarterfinals after being drawn against Benfica.

The draw also sees Werder Bremen play Juventus, PSV Eindhoven meet Lyon, Ajax against Inter Milan and Rangers against Villarreal in the third clash between British and Spanish teams.

But it is the showdown between tournament favorites Chelsea and Barcelona which will attract the most attention.

The teams clashed at the same stage last season when Chelsea won an astonishing tie 5-4 on aggregate despite a virtuoso performance from Ronaldinho who scored a breathtaking goal in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 in the Nou Camp, but Chelsea won the second leg 4-2 in London two weeks later after racing into a 3-0 lead inside 19 minutes.

Barca had pulled the score back to 3-2 on the night to lead on the away goals rule after 38 minutes, before a John Terry goal 14 minutes from the end won a memorable match for Chelsea, who went on to beat Bayern Munich before losing to Liverpool in the semifinals.

The tie was also notable for the row between coaches Frank Rijkaard and Jose Mourinho which led to the latter getting banned for two games.

"It will be another top contest between two coaches with high tactical awareness, we should expect something good," said Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian said he felt last season's off-pitch antics played no part in the result. "It was our own mistakes that let us down," he said.

"To go 3-0 down after 20 minutes is not normal by today's standards. We kept chasing the game, we scored two goals and then suffered another goal. It was a completely unique match."

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was also keen to play down the coaches' row, which led to the retirement of Swedish referee Anders Frisk, who received death threats following Mourinho's claim that he spoke to Rijkaard at halftime in the first leg.

"I've always been on good terms with their president so we will put all non-football issues behind us and look forward to some fantastic football in February," he said.

Arsenal and Real Madrid have never met in European competition before but the tie means David Beckham will return to his home town to play a rare competitive match in England.

Both teams are currently playing below their usual high standards and if Real managed to knock out Arsenal they would be the last European visitors to Highbury before the London club move to their nerw ground next season.

"Pure show business," said Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein. "It's fantastic, we have never played Real Madrid before in Europe, they are one of the great teams of Europe. You never underestimate a team like Real Madrid."

Holders Liverpool will face a Benfica side who beat English rivals Manchester United last week to clinch their place in the last 16.

Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez said "It is not an easy draw but it is not the worst draw that it could have been either.

"There are only good teams left in the competition at this stage and we could have been paired with Bayern Munich, for example.

"I'm pleased to have avoided certain teams but we will face a very tough match against Benfica. They are a very good team and they proved just what they can do by knocking Manchester United out of the competition."

Liverpool have the upper hand against Benfica winning five of the six matches they played against them in the old European Cup between 1978 and 1984.

AC Milan, last season's beaten finalists, face a tough match against Bayern Munich in a rivalry that dates back to 1967-68 when Milan first beat Bayern in the semifinals of the old European Cup Winners' Cup and went on to win the final

Milan have won four of their six previous European clashes including home and away group stage ties in 2002-03.

PSV met Lyon in the quarterfinals last season with the Dutch side going through 4-2 on penalties.

Lyon have been outstanding this season, unbeaten in 18 French Ligue 1 matches and also qualifying from the group stage of the Champions league unbeaten with five wins and a draw in their six games.

They are also desperately keen to reach the final at the Stade de France in Paris on May 17 with president Jean-Michel Aulas saying: "We'll be thinking about the future, not the past. We're very ambitious.

"The fact that there are several clashes between favorites is good news if we do qualify because if means that some of the big names will be gone."

Champions League last 16 draw:

Chelsea (Eng v Barcelona (Sp)

Real Madrid (Sp) v Arsenal (Eng)

Werder Bremen (Ger) v Juventus (It)

Bayern Munich (Ger) v AC Milan (It)

PSV Eindhoven (Net) v Lyon (Fr)

Ajax (Net) v Inter Milan (It)

Benfica (Por) v Liverpool (Eng)

Rangers (Sco) v Villareal (Sp)

Matches to be played - first round on February 21 and 22 and return leg on March 7 and 8.

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