Puyol: Milan-Barcelona will be a fantastic tie

Dec 20, 2012 3:50:00 PM

The Blaugrana captain has spoken of his excitement after his side were yet again drawn to face the Italian giants in the Champions League, this time in the round of 16

Barcelona star Carles Puyol has spoken of his delight after the Catalan giants were paired with AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16 draw.

The two-legged tie will be the fifth and sixth time the clubs have met in the Champions League in the last two seasons.

"Personally I am really happy, not because it will be in any way easy, quite the opposite in fact," the 34-year-old was quoted as saying by Uefa's official website.

THE DRAW IN FULL

Galatasaray v FC Schalke

Celtic v Juventus

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

Shakhtar v Borussia Dortmund

AC Milan v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Manchester United

Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain

FC Porto v Malaga

First legs will be played on either February 12/13 or19/20, with the return legs on March 5/6 or 12/13.

"I am happy because Milan are a team I have always liked and I like playing there. They have an incredible stadium and I am sure this will be a fantastic tie.

"[Last season] we lost the Uefa Champions League and the Liga in practically the same week.

"This time around we have started really well and we hope to continue along that path into 2013," added the Spain international.

Barcelona will be hoping for a repeat of last season's encounter between the two sides in the knockout stages, when the Blaugrana progressed to the semi-finals 3-1 on aggregate.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes his team are due more luck this time after conceding two penalties in that fixture.

The spot-kicks were converted by Lionel Messi and it helped him to move into third on the all-time goalscorers list in the Champions League.

And the Rossoneri trainer knows they will be in for a difficult game in a couple of months time.

He said: "Once again we will be facing the best team in the world. Hopefully we will have more luck this time."

The first leg will take place at San Siro on February 20 next year, with the return fixture scheduled for March 12.

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Five winners from the Champions League draw

With the ties for the last 16 of Europe's top competition decided by Uefa, Goal.com's Peter Staunton looks at those who have benefited most from Thursday's draw, with Bayern Munich set to face Arsenal, Real Madrid to play Manchester United and AC Milan to lock horns with Barcelona once more