The draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 took place on Monday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Napoli, who were Pot A after winning Group A, could draw one of Club Brugge, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Napoli could not draw Liverpool FC, as they were the runners up of Group A, or either of the two clubs from Milan, being representatives of the same club competition (Serie A).
The draw began with Leipzig drawing Manchester City and Club Brugge drawing SL Benfica. That left Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund and PSG available to Napoli. The next two clubs drawn were ineligible to play against Napoli: Liverpool, who drew Real Madrid, and AC Milan, who drew Tottenham FC.
Eintracht Frankfurt was the fifth club to be drawn from the pot of runners-up, with possible opponents being SSC Napoli, FC Porto and Chelsea FC. Though Bayern Munich were still available, they were ineligible given both clubs play in the German Bundesliga.
Frankfurt drew SSC Napoli, meaning the clubs will meet for the first time since the 1994/95 UEFA Cup. Frankfurt finished 11th in the Bundesliga in the 2021/22 season, but qualified directly for the Group Stage of the Champions League after defeating Rangers FC in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League final. Frankfurt are currently fifth in Bundesliga, behind Bayern Munich, SC Freiburg, Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund.
Completing the draw, Borussia Dortmund drew Chelsea FC, Inter Milan drew FC Porto – the only eligible club remaining – and PSG was left with Bayern Munich, which will undoubtedly be the matchup of the round. Altogether, it was an excellent draw for the Italian clubs:
- Tottenham FC vs AC Milan
- SSC Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- FC Porto vs Inter Milan
The Champions League will now pause until February 2023. The first leg of the Round of 16 will be contested on February 14-15th and 20-21st, while the return legs will be played on March 7-8th and 14-15th.
