Champions League

Owen Hargreaves: 'I feel sorry for Chelsea after Champions League draw'

By Jonny Whitfield, ReporterPublished: 11 December 2017 4:11 PM

Owen Hargreaves says that he "feels sorry" for Chelsea fans after Antonio Conte's men draw Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Owen Hargreaves has said that he "feels sorry" for Chelsea fans after Antonio Conte's men drew Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Monday's draw also saw Liverpool paired with FC Porto, while Manchester City go to Basel in the first leg of their tie.

Manchester United drew Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur completed the draw with their clash against Juventus, but Hargreaves has said that Chelsea are the worst off.

"I feel sorry for Chelsea fans obviously [because of] Barcelona, that's the difficult one," the former footballer told BT Sport.

"For Chelsea it's really tough, but Conte is the one manager that, with the defensive tactics that he has, could find a way to get a result against Barcelona.

"For Tottenham obviously it's difficult. But I think if you're Manchester United you're very happy, [and] Liverpool. Manchester City will be the happiest of everyone. Basel, that's a brilliant draw for them."

Four of the knockout stage first legs will take place on Tuesday, February 13 and Wednesday 14, with the remaining teams to play their first ties the following week.