Cristiano Ronaldo returns on to Old Traford

All eyes will always be on Cristiano Ronaldo as he returns to Old Trafford with Real Madrid CF for the conclusion of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie with Man Utd FC.
• Ronaldo passed six years at United and was on focus against his previous club in the first leg on 13 February, cancelling out Danny Welbeck’s 20th-minute opener to earn Madrid a 1-1 draw.

Previous matches
• These teams have met in four previous European Cup ties with the winners going on to lift the trophy on three occasions. Madrid arrived at the top in the semi-finals in 1956/57 and quarter-finals in 1999/2000 and 2002/03, while United was successful in the 1967/68 semi-finals.

• Madrid overrode United 6-5 on aggregate in a very memorable encounter ten seasons ago. Vicente del Bosque’s side emerged 3-1 winners from the first leg at the Bernabéu, Luís Figo and Raúl González (2) scoring before Ruud van Nistelrooy drawn a goal back.

If you think Real Madrid can won Champions League, you can place your bet at Bwin.com as they offer a very good odds.

• The Brazilian Ronaldo struck a hat-trick in the Old Trafford return, leaving the pitch to applause from the home supporters who then saw United hold back to win 4-3 through two goals from substitute David Beckham. Van Nistelrooy and Iván Helguera (own goal) also found the net.

• The lineups from that Old Trafford meeting on 23 April 2003 were:
Man Utd: Barthez, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre (P Neville 79), Verón (Beckham 63), Butt, Keane (Fortune 82), Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Solskjær.
Madrid: Casillas, Salgado, Hierro, Helguera, Roberto Carlos, Zidane, McManaman (Portillo 69), Figo (Pavón 88), Makelele, Ronaldo (Solari 67), Guti.

• Within the 1999/2000 quarter-finals, eventual champions Madrid advanced 3-2 on aggregate when they accompanied a goalless home draw by taking a 3-0 lead in Manchester through Roy Keane’s own goal and a Raúl double, before Beckham and Paul Scholes replied for the then holders. Ryan Giggs and Iker Casillas also featured.

• George Best got the only goal of the teams’ 1967/68 semi-final first leg at Old Trafford. United then battled back from 3-1 behind to draw 3-3 in Madrid and went on to lift the trophy for the first time.

• Madrid won the first-ever meeting 5-3 on aggregate to reach the 1956/57 final. The Merengues overcame Matt Busby’s men 3-1 at home and then led 2-0 at half-time in Manchester through goals from Raymond Kopa and Héctor Rial. However, Tommy Taylor and Bobby Charlton then set the tone for a series of United fightbacks in this fixture by making it 2-2.

Barcelona draw Milan, Ronaldo to face United

Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford for the first time since leaving Manchester United FC for Real Madrid CF while FC Barcelona were paired with AC Milan in the round of 16 draw.

FC Barcelona will face AC Milan in a rematch of the 1994 UEFA Champions League final while Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Manchester United FC for the first time following today’s round of 16 draw in Nyon, Switzerland.

Round of 16 draw
Galatasaray AŞ (TUR) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
Celtic FC (SCO) v Juventus (ITA)
Arsenal FC (ENG) v FC Bayern München (GER)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Borussia Dortmund (GER)
AC Milan (ITA) v FC Barcelona (ESP)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Manchester United FC (ENG)
Valencia CF (ESP) v Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
FC Porto (POR) v Málaga CF (ESP)

The ceremony was conducted by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti, assisted by final ambassador Steve McManaman, a two-time winner of this tournament with Real Madrid.

His former employers will travel to Old Trafford – where Ronaldo scored many of his 118 goals in 292 appearances for the Red Devils before leaving for the Santiago Bernabéu in a world-record €94m deal in 2009 – for the second leg in March, with the first instalment taking place in Spain the previous month.

Madrid’s Liga rivals Barcelona renew acquaintances with Milan, a team they played in the group stage last season, drawing 2-2 at home and winning 3-2 at San Siro. More famously, they went head-to-head in the 1994 Athens showpiece, Daniele Massaro scoring twice in a 4-0 victory for the Rossoneri.

With the final being held a few miles away from their north London base, Arsenal FC have particular incentive to go all the way to Wembley, but they must first overcome last term’s runners-up FC Bayern München if they are avoid a third successive elimination at this juncture. Málaga CF, the only club in the last 16 yet to grace this stage before, were paired with FC Porto.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain FC, whose 15-point haul was the highest in the group stage, will tackle Valencia CF and Celtic FC play Juventus. Galatasaray AŞ meet FC Schalke 04, whose fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund take on FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

Seeded group winners will be away in the first legs on 12/13 and 19/20 February and at home in the return matches on 5/6 and 12/13 March. The draw for the quarter-finals will be made at 12.00CET on 15 March and the tournament concludes at Wembley Stadium on 25 May.