Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP)

Reunion in sight for Thomas Tuchel: Paris SG will face Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League, while Lyon inherited the formidable Juventus Turin from Cristiano Ronaldo in the draw carried out Monday by UEFA in Nyon, Switzerland.

The big shock will oppose Real Madrid, holder of the record of victories in the prestigious European competition (13 titles), in Manchester City. The first matches will be played on 18-19 and 25-26 February, the return matches on 10-11 and 17-18 March 2020.

Admittedly, Paris managed to avoid Atlético Madrid and Tottenham, the outgoing finalist, presented as the most dangerous opponent of hat 2 by its new coach José Mourinho. But Lucien Favre's Dortmund remains a serious customer with his pronounced taste for attacking play.

If Borussia has experienced irregular results in both C1 and the Bundesliga (3rd in the standings) this season, it is always dangerous to seek a result within its precincts of the Ruhr, known worldwide for its atmosphere and its "wall yellow".

A threat to be taken all the more seriously for Neymar and Kylian Mbappé since Paris has been unable to pass the round of knockout stages since 2016.

This PSG-Dortmund duel will notably be marked by the warm reunion of Thomas Tuchel, the Parisian coach, with his former club, from which he did not start on good terms. Ditto for Adbou Diallo, the former Borussia defender who joined the Paris club this summer for 35 million euros.

"We have a coach who knows the atmosphere, the team very well. It is both positive and negative, because it will be special for him there", warned Leonardo, the Parisian sports director at the microphone of RMC Sport. He became a great coach at Borussia, the complicity exists. We can talk about individual stories but in the end it's PSG-Borussia, and that's what matters most. "

- "CR7", the main danger -

Lyon, who was condemned to fall on one of the big favorites to the final victory, inherited Juventus from Cristiano Ronaldo. In addition to the returns to France of Blaise Matuidi and Adrien Rabiot, the arrival of "CR7", top scorer in the history of C1, will be the main attraction of the reception of the Italian champion, during the first leg.

"It is a very difficult draw, they are very favorite," admitted Juninho, the sports director of OL, at the microphone of RMC Sport. It is the best defense of the competition so far, it is the first of the Italian championship, they have the best scorer with Ronaldo. It is never lost in advance, so we will try to give the best when the time comes, especially the home game, we will try to do something. "

Deprived of its captain Memphis Depay and his hope Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, both victims of a ligament rupture of a knee, the Lyon club is condemned to the exploit.

"By this match, we will have to solve our problems, improve our performance, and especially in relation to injuries, warned Juninho again. The truth is that to pass on a match like this, we must fall on one day Perfect. Are we going to be able to? We never know. "

Relegated to 8th place in the Ligue 1 ranking, six points from the podium, the Lyonnais are far from their goals at the start of the season. Unless this prestige opposition serves as a trigger?

© 2019 AFP