Milan-Barca, Madrid-United top last-16 line-up

(AFP) Barcelona versus AC Milan and Manchester United against Real Madrid were the pick of the ties in the Champions League last 16 draw on Thursday, as the knock-out phase of this year's competition took shape.

Perennial favourites Barcelona, champions in 2009 and 2011, are currently nine points clear in La Liga but received a hammer blow on Wednesday when it was revealed coach Tito Vilanova must undergo surgery after cancer returned to his salivary gland.


His assistant, Jordi Roura, has been placed in temporary charge.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) was a very hard day, a tough blow," said Barca captain Carles Puyol in comments posted on the club's official Twitter feed.

"Tito gave us strength, already talked about coming back. Personally, I'm happy about facing Milan. Not because it's an easy opponent but because it's a team I've always liked." Barcelona and Milan locked horns four times in last season's competition, with Barca finishing above Massimiliano Allegri's side in the group phase and then prevailing 3-1 on aggregate when they met again in the last eight.

United's tie with Madrid will see Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo face his former club for the first time since leaving Old Trafford for the Spanish capital in 2009.

The sides last met in 2003, when a famous hat-trick in Manchester by Ronaldo -- Cristiano Ronaldo's Brazilian predecessor and namesake -- gave Madrid a 6-5 aggregate quarter-final win.

Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has only lost two of his 14 previous encounters with Alex Ferguson's side, and United club secretary John Alexander admitted the club would have preferred a more gentle draw.

Champions League last 16 draw: Galatasaray (TUR) v Schalke 04 (GER) Celtic (SCO) v Juventus (ITA) Arsenal (ENG) v Bayern Munich (GER) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Borussia Dortmund (GER) AC Milan (ITA) v Barcelona (ESP) Real Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG) Valencia (ESP) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) FC Porto (POR) v Malaga (ESP)