Two Super Eagles stars are set to lock horns in the UEFA Champions League play-off draw next month, Soccernet.ng reports.
Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman will take on Club Brugge’s Raphael Onyedika as both sides look to reach the latter stages of Europe’s fiercest club Football trophy.
The 2024 UEFA Europa League winners finished just outside the top eight spots in the Champions League group phase, following their 2-2 draw against Barcelona on the final matchday. Ademola Lookman missed the game due to an injury. In eight league games, Atalanta won four, drew three and lost one, which cost them the top 8 spot by just a point, as Aston Villa sealed a place in the round of sixteen.
Club Brugge on the other hand, were defeated by Manchester City, 3-1, after Raphael Onyedika had broken the deadlock against Pep Guardiola’s men at the Etihad Stadium. The Blue Backs sealed a play-off spot on goal difference, as they were 24th in the Champions League group phase.
Sixteen sides were seeded in the UEFA Champions League play-off spot, and the winner of each tie will proceed to the round of sixteen to join the teams that finished in the top eight of the group phase. As per UEFA’s official website, the first legs of these maiden playoffs will be played on either Tuesday 11 February or Wednesday 12 February. The reverse fixtures will be held one week later on 18/19 February.
The same week that these fixtures are concluded, the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals will be drawn on Friday, 21 February.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Atleti, Barcelona, Inter, Leverkusen, Lille, and Liverpool have already qualified for the round of sixteen automatically after sealing a top-eight finish.
It wouldn’t be the first time Onyedika has played against a Nigerian in the UEFA Champions League. Earlier this season, the 23-year-old midfielder was sent off at the San Siro when Club Brugge played against Samuel Chukwueze’s AC Milan.