Antonio Conte’s side finished second in their group behind Roma and their reward is a tie against La Liga’s leaders, with the first leg taking place at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, Manchester City were handed potentially the most straightforward task whe they were paired with Swiss champions Basel, with Liverpool up against Porto.
Four first legs will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday 13/14 February, and the remainder the following week.
The draw is not what Chelsea wanted after Conte conceded that the defence of their Premier League crown was over after this weekend’s defeat to West Ham.But he will hope to invoke the memory of their remarkable win over the Catalan giants in 2012, when a late goal from Ramires saw them reach the Champions League final on away goals despite the earlier dismissal of John Terry.
Spurs meanwhile can expect to face a sterner test than that posed by Juventus in their last meeting in a pre-season friendly at Wembley in May, which the north Londoners won 2-0.City will be delighted to land Swiss outsiders Basel. But they will have good cause to be wary against their experienced opposition, who beat both United and Benfica on their way to qualifying as runners-up from Group A.
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