The soccer world has good reason to stir over events that will take place months from now.
UEFA on Monday conducted the Champions League round of 16 draw, setting eight matchups that will go a long way toward determining this season’s winner of European soccer’s elite competition. The best of those matchups almost sent theĀ internet into meltdown, as teams, fans and players reacted with glee to what are expected to be seismic meetings.
Tottneham vs. Juventus will feature Italian soccer’s juggernaut against one of England’s rising powers. Juventus’Ā Sami Khedira and Claudio Marchisio seem excited about their March 7 trip to London.
Our next @ChampionsLeague opponent: Tottenham! …will be two tough games against them! Looking forward! ā½šš½ #UCLDraw #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve #SK6
— Sami Khedira (@SamiKhedira) December 11, 2017
Ready for this! London calling š¬š§š®š¹šŖ#UCLdraw #UCL #ForzaJuve #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/XYnsSkrV0X
— Claudio Marchisio (@ClaMarchisio8) December 11, 2017
Bayern Munich stalwarts Franck Ribery, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels are ready for their games against Turkish club Besiktas.
We're going to Turkey… š¹š·āš¼ @FCBayern vs Besiktas! #PackMas šš¼ #UCLDraw #Last16 #MiaSanMia
— Franck RibĆ©ry (@FranckRibery) December 11, 2017
… and it's #Besiktas š¹š· An interesting draw for us… they're in a good shape. Let's do it @fcbayern #UCLDraw
— JĆ©rĆ“me Boateng (@JeromeBoateng) December 11, 2017
Besiktas it is!
— Mats Hummels (@matshummels) December 11, 2017
Despite retiring last season, AS Roma legend Francesco Totti warns his former teammates against overlooking Shakhtar Donetsk.
REACTION | š¬ | Francesco Totti gives his thoughts on our draw against @FCShakhtar_eng…
Your verdict? #UCL #ASRoma pic.twitter.com/j43Hir7iOd
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) December 11, 2017
Real Madrid and PSG kick off their epic round of 16 series on Feb. 14. Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos had little to say about the draw, but the rest of the internet picked up the slack.
nice draw
— Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) December 11, 2017
Real Madrid vs PSG on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day 2018 is cancelled.
— Deji Faremi (@deejayfaremi) December 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/UNILADFooty/status/940181493082673152
Accurate representation of Real Madrid vs PSG #UCLDraw pic.twitter.com/Z5NxTYEod3
— Basit (@DesBasito95) December 11, 2017
Real Madrid fans right nowš#UCLDraw pic.twitter.com/zQQJPh3WxD
— Juniie š§ (@justjuniie) December 11, 2017
Much of the reaction to Barcelona vs. Chelsea, meanwhile, centered around Lionel Messi’s historic futility against the Blues.
0 – Lionel Messi has faced Chelsea eight times without scoring a single goal from 29 shots; his worst record against a single club during his career. Hex. #UCLDraw pic.twitter.com/PDe4GOndTQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 11, 2017
