SOCCER

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Lisandro Martinez's deflected goal provided a much-needed reprieve for Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, as the Red Devils secured a slim 1-0 victory over Fulham on Sunday.

City, the reigning Champions League holders, will host Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on 11 or 12 February before traveling to Spain for the return leg the following week. Meanwhile, Celtic, who became the first British club to win the competition in 1967, will play Bayern Munich at Celtic Park before heading to Germany for the second leg at Allianz Arena.

The winners of these ties will advance to the last 16, where they will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid. The draw for the last 16 is set for 21 February, following the completion of the play-off matches.

Other notable play-off fixtures include Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge vs Atalanta, Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven, Monaco vs Benfica, Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund, and Feyenoord vs AC Milan.

In the new Champions League format, the top eight teams from the 36-team group stage automatically qualified for the last 16, while the bottom eight were eliminated. The remaining 16 teams, finishing between ninth and 24th place, moved into the play-offs. Those ranked ninth to 16th were seeded, while teams from 17th to 24th were unseeded. Seeded teams were drawn against one of two unseeded opponents and will host the second leg due to their higher group-stage ranking.

City finished 22nd in the group phase, while Celtic placed 21st, setting up their encounters with Madrid and Bayern, who ended the group stage in 11th and 12th, respectively.

Liverpool, Arsenal, and Aston Villa secured direct entry into the last 16 after finishing in the top eight. The draw on 21 February will finalize last-16 matchups, though some pairings are already predetermined. Teams in the top eight were divided into four seeded pairs based on their standings.

Liverpool, the highest-ranked team in the league phase, is paired with second-placed Barcelona. They will face either the winner of Brest vs PSG or Monaco vs Benfica. Arsenal, who finished third, are paired with Inter Milan and will play either Juventus vs PSV or Feyenoord vs AC Milan. Aston Villa, who secured eighth place, are paired with seventh-ranked Lille and will meet the winner of either Club Brugge vs Atalanta or Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund.

With play-off ties set to unfold, anticipation builds as teams battle for a place in the knockout rounds.

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Barcelona saw off a three-match run of home LaLiga defeats in ruthless style by dismantling a poor Valencia side in a 7-1 win, with five of the Blaugrana’s seven-goal haul coming during a breathless first half in Catalonia. Feeling confident after a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions, Carlos Corberan stated ahead of this historic fixture that his side were going to “play their own way”. However, that meant they failed to respect Barcelona’s quality from the very start, and subsequently let in four during a brutal first 25 minutes.